Monday, December 26, 2011
Retail Jobs in Canada-Suzviews: The Truth About Applying Online: and Why You Need ...
Retail Jobs in Canada-Suzviews: The Truth About Applying Online: and Why You Need ...: Did you know that your odds of getting a job by using online application systems: either job boards or corporate: are no better than 1.6% ? ...
The Truth About Applying Online: and Why You Need a Personal Recruiter
Did you know that your odds of getting a job by using online application systems: either job boards or corporate: are no better than 1.6% ?
First trick is to have your resume make it through the auto screener........the system that checks for every single keyword mention.
Now some professionals recently created 100 absolutely perfect resumes:
that should trigger an acceptance through the system.
Did that work? You guessed right: Nope
Only 12 of the resumes actually screened through to a human.
What you need to understand is that applying online is a nearly hopeless way of getting a new job.
Not that it never happens: only that it rarely happens.
We hear horror stories all the time about candidates sending out up to 100 applications a day: and if they are lucky will receive an auto reply thanking them for their time but dont expect a response otherwise.
Because thats the bottom line: applying online is mainly a waste of your time and resources.
Why?
Well besides the fact that your resume didnt make it through the system:
about half the time the job posted isnt even real.
Yes thats right: the firm is only posting the job to meet legal requirements of fairness and already know who they are going to hire.
Only by linking up with a personal recruiter can you avoid all these obstacles.
They will honestly tell you:
1 )your resume wont make it in its current format......
2) the job actually isnt really available.....
3) the firm is a candidate window shopper: they call you in just to compare you to their own internal candidates
4) the firm has a horrible candidate experience record
5) your credentials etc arent what they want
6) the bias this firm has against hiring from firm "x"
Yes thats true too:
certain companies will automatically rule you out based upon who you worked for before
Also true:
more than 5 years in one job: and you are in retail: a dinosaur
less than 2 years in one job: you are unstable
What you need to know is that the entire review process is set up to catch you making mistakes:
not to actually see if you can do the job
Its a case of "last man standing".......the person who "got the highest score" more or less.
You would be astonished how many candidates get dumped at third or fourth interview:
overuled from hire by a tiny detail.........
One senior director was eliminate for the "snow question"......
how they answered how they would get to work in a blizzard.
You absolutely need to figure this out:
link up with a recruiter:
They will coach you through the entire process:
tell you what pitfalls to avoid
Having a personal recruiter is like having a personal trainer, chef, stylist and social coach all in one: and its free to you.
To avoid corporate abuse of candidates:
ONLY agree to be reviewed by a firm IF you are represented by an agent and insist your agent do all the talking for you.
More later in 2012 Candidates!
First trick is to have your resume make it through the auto screener........the system that checks for every single keyword mention.
Now some professionals recently created 100 absolutely perfect resumes:
that should trigger an acceptance through the system.
Did that work? You guessed right: Nope
Only 12 of the resumes actually screened through to a human.
What you need to understand is that applying online is a nearly hopeless way of getting a new job.
Not that it never happens: only that it rarely happens.
We hear horror stories all the time about candidates sending out up to 100 applications a day: and if they are lucky will receive an auto reply thanking them for their time but dont expect a response otherwise.
Because thats the bottom line: applying online is mainly a waste of your time and resources.
Why?
Well besides the fact that your resume didnt make it through the system:
about half the time the job posted isnt even real.
Yes thats right: the firm is only posting the job to meet legal requirements of fairness and already know who they are going to hire.
Only by linking up with a personal recruiter can you avoid all these obstacles.
They will honestly tell you:
1 )your resume wont make it in its current format......
2) the job actually isnt really available.....
3) the firm is a candidate window shopper: they call you in just to compare you to their own internal candidates
4) the firm has a horrible candidate experience record
5) your credentials etc arent what they want
6) the bias this firm has against hiring from firm "x"
Yes thats true too:
certain companies will automatically rule you out based upon who you worked for before
Also true:
more than 5 years in one job: and you are in retail: a dinosaur
less than 2 years in one job: you are unstable
What you need to know is that the entire review process is set up to catch you making mistakes:
not to actually see if you can do the job
Its a case of "last man standing".......the person who "got the highest score" more or less.
You would be astonished how many candidates get dumped at third or fourth interview:
overuled from hire by a tiny detail.........
One senior director was eliminate for the "snow question"......
how they answered how they would get to work in a blizzard.
You absolutely need to figure this out:
link up with a recruiter:
They will coach you through the entire process:
tell you what pitfalls to avoid
Having a personal recruiter is like having a personal trainer, chef, stylist and social coach all in one: and its free to you.
To avoid corporate abuse of candidates:
ONLY agree to be reviewed by a firm IF you are represented by an agent and insist your agent do all the talking for you.
More later in 2012 Candidates!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Candidate Shopping: When Endless Pursuit of the Ideal Candidate Does more Damage than Good
Retail firms are notorious for Shopping: Endless candidate shopping and never actually hiring anyone.
Why? Well presumably the miraculous ideal candidate is still one more interview away.
Like the perfect dress. Or the perfect woman to marry.
Recently one local firm kept shopping until they had accumulated 300 resumes for a Director role:
shortlisted that to 15:
and STILL made no hiring choice.
Not surprisingly they are back on the phone looking for recruiters to send them even MORE candidates.
That would be a NO......no way. Not a single agency will refer even one more candidate to this firm.
Its not just because obviously there are endless hours of work put into sourcing candidates for them:
but
there are all the disaffected candidates who resent having supplied so many of their own hours chasing this elusive job only to hear: NOTHING
That sets up an incredible scenario of resentment towards the above brand: creates brand resistance for all further searches but trashes the recruiters reputation. Next time the recruiter calls for a valid position: all the candidate thinks is: Here goes another waste of my time.
What this retailer doesnt seem to get:
is that when we call on their behalf:
fully 7 out of 10 potentials already know the brand reputation for fruitless interviews and applications and simply reject to proceed.
Thus fully 70% of the talent pool wont even listen to a proposal from that brand:
and this just trashes what the recruiter can bring to the table in candidates for them.
The point here is: the harder they screen, the longer they search: the more they turn off multiples more candidates.
Its a case of diminishing returns.......they are making it worse for themselves: not better.
Yet they are foolishly proud of all the due diligence they think they are putting in.
Research shows: you only need to review about 20 people who fundamentally qualify for your role
to establish a baseline of what is available in the market and if your price is right.
Stop at 20: and HIRE......
Its amazing how many senior people just cant make simple hiring decisions: so terrified of getting it wrong.
If you cant find 20 people who qualify: then its simple: your expectations are ridiculous.
You change: dont ask the talent to morph into some magical format that melds to your fantasy candidate.
Be realistic about what you can expect at what price.
You only have 45k to shop with?.......in todays market that is virtually entry level:
yet we see job descriptions that Senior Execs would have a hard time even understanding.
This is a marketplace: you are buying and brokering talent. People talent has a cash value.
And unless you are Facebook or Apple:
you are only worth what you are willing to pay.
Low price? Low talent pool. Simple equation.
From a recruiters point of view: when you consistently dont hire: we stop doing referals for you.
End of: We dont need the agro.
We dont need ticked off candidates hounding us about roles that will never be filled.
We dont need junk feedback about the negatives of the candidate:
I recently heard one that blew me away: They HR didnt like the sound of the candidates voice......
Are you kidding?.........
this person was an ideal match culturally, skill wise and reputation wise: No one else this person ever worked for had issues.........
So do you think anyone will source for that retailer any more?......when the deciding factor is tone of voice?
Firms that endlessly source and never hire:
turn the entire market place agains them
That reputation spreads like wildfire:
a few Facebook mentions about what a candidates experience was like
just that alone:
is enough to totally ruin your relationships with recruiters and candidates alike
And you sure dont want recruiters out there telling candidates:
thats not a firm I would send you to
because they are talking to hundreds of other retailers every week.
You need a hugely positive experience for all candidates:
You need to actually hire in a timely way:
or stop interviewing altogether.
You need an amazing reputation with recruiters as well.
You have to stop window shopping and actually hire people.
Why? Well presumably the miraculous ideal candidate is still one more interview away.
Like the perfect dress. Or the perfect woman to marry.
Recently one local firm kept shopping until they had accumulated 300 resumes for a Director role:
shortlisted that to 15:
and STILL made no hiring choice.
Not surprisingly they are back on the phone looking for recruiters to send them even MORE candidates.
That would be a NO......no way. Not a single agency will refer even one more candidate to this firm.
Its not just because obviously there are endless hours of work put into sourcing candidates for them:
but
there are all the disaffected candidates who resent having supplied so many of their own hours chasing this elusive job only to hear: NOTHING
That sets up an incredible scenario of resentment towards the above brand: creates brand resistance for all further searches but trashes the recruiters reputation. Next time the recruiter calls for a valid position: all the candidate thinks is: Here goes another waste of my time.
What this retailer doesnt seem to get:
is that when we call on their behalf:
fully 7 out of 10 potentials already know the brand reputation for fruitless interviews and applications and simply reject to proceed.
Thus fully 70% of the talent pool wont even listen to a proposal from that brand:
and this just trashes what the recruiter can bring to the table in candidates for them.
The point here is: the harder they screen, the longer they search: the more they turn off multiples more candidates.
Its a case of diminishing returns.......they are making it worse for themselves: not better.
Yet they are foolishly proud of all the due diligence they think they are putting in.
Research shows: you only need to review about 20 people who fundamentally qualify for your role
to establish a baseline of what is available in the market and if your price is right.
Stop at 20: and HIRE......
Its amazing how many senior people just cant make simple hiring decisions: so terrified of getting it wrong.
If you cant find 20 people who qualify: then its simple: your expectations are ridiculous.
You change: dont ask the talent to morph into some magical format that melds to your fantasy candidate.
Be realistic about what you can expect at what price.
You only have 45k to shop with?.......in todays market that is virtually entry level:
yet we see job descriptions that Senior Execs would have a hard time even understanding.
This is a marketplace: you are buying and brokering talent. People talent has a cash value.
And unless you are Facebook or Apple:
you are only worth what you are willing to pay.
Low price? Low talent pool. Simple equation.
From a recruiters point of view: when you consistently dont hire: we stop doing referals for you.
End of: We dont need the agro.
We dont need ticked off candidates hounding us about roles that will never be filled.
We dont need junk feedback about the negatives of the candidate:
I recently heard one that blew me away: They HR didnt like the sound of the candidates voice......
Are you kidding?.........
this person was an ideal match culturally, skill wise and reputation wise: No one else this person ever worked for had issues.........
So do you think anyone will source for that retailer any more?......when the deciding factor is tone of voice?
Firms that endlessly source and never hire:
turn the entire market place agains them
That reputation spreads like wildfire:
a few Facebook mentions about what a candidates experience was like
just that alone:
is enough to totally ruin your relationships with recruiters and candidates alike
And you sure dont want recruiters out there telling candidates:
thats not a firm I would send you to
because they are talking to hundreds of other retailers every week.
You need a hugely positive experience for all candidates:
You need to actually hire in a timely way:
or stop interviewing altogether.
You need an amazing reputation with recruiters as well.
You have to stop window shopping and actually hire people.
Monday, September 26, 2011
What Hirers Want from Candidates 2012
The big question on the minds of recruiters and candidates: is what do these hirers want?
Rather than guess: I started interviewing some of my clients and here is what they said.
Candidates:
a) They want good attitude before skills.
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Well that sounds easy enough.........but what the heck is that really?
What it boils down to is: enthusiasm for their company.
The biggest complaint we hear about older candidates is that once hired, they spend a lot of time saying: We always did it this way at XXX company......why do you do it differently?
To the new firm: you are wasting their time. They dont care how other companies did it unless they specifically ask for advice. They simply want you to learn their systems and get up and running as fast as possible.
They dont want challenges they want you to forget most of what you specifically learned in the last 20 years and do it THEIR WAY.
The bottom line is they want you to think their way is the BEST way you have ever seen it done.........something they DO get from younger less world wise candidates.
You think you were hired for all the knowledge you bring to the game to actually apply that knowledge.
Not so much.
You were hired because you have a CORE UNDERSTANDING of the industry: so they dont have to lay the groundwork: but thats really it. Now they want you to play on their team.
If they are the Leafs! The Leafs are the top team.
If they are the Senators: then they are.
Forget whatever team you played on before: They dont want to hear it.
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b) Someone who wants THIS exact job: right here: right now.
Hirers unanimously say: Bring me someone who passionately wants the job I am offering: not just A job and not the next job up the ladder.
.. this exact job at this exact pay with this exact level of power.
In fact: you are probably being interviewed because you are already doing a nearly similar job.
This shows up as at interview when candidates are asked what they know about the firm and why they want to work there..........that blank stare that comes from only having browsed their website wont cut it.
In other words: that stale old interview question: Why do you want to work for us?.......has increased in its value to the employer............
Cant stress enough how much effort candidates need to put into that research pre-interview.
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c) Fit over skills:
You see these horrific job postings with lists of skills: you consider painstakingly each and every one of them and reach the decision you match those criteria. You might even get an interview: but you dont get hired. You are left wondering what went wrong?
Fit. The company didnt see you on their team. They didnt "get" who you were as being "like them"
Hirers want to hire people: "like them".
Skill just isnt enough. Its only 50% of the job these days.
Having a lot of skills and experience gets you through the door: but only "fit" gets the deal.
So what is "fit"???
Let's be real here. some of it sounds prejudicial and illegal.
"Like Us" can mean: all M.I.T. educated engineers with young techno minds.
No way around that: it does exclude older people. It can exclude those without modern educations.
The hirer thinks you wont fit in with the rest of the team.
Well: you will never know anyway: you likely wont get an offer.
Fit is generational attitude........
Fit is visual.........
Fit is values......
Fit is a simple test: Who is your favourite musician?.........if you mention Johnny Cash in a company that plays Lincoln Park........you probably wont get hired.
Yup: folks: thats the folly of fit..........
Heres the advice: if its a retailer: walk through their store: if you dont sound act or look like them: you arent them: you wont be hired. Dont be fooled into thinking they are looking for something different in support roles at head office.
What you see is what they are hiring. Dont waste your time even applying.
Select companies that will value what you have to offer: not companies that will need to make you over into their profile employee: they wont bother.
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Lets take Visual Fit:
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A young lady was recently sent for an interview as a Bilingual Office Admin person. Pretty straight forward. She was bi-lingual and skilled at office work.
However, she wore something dowdy to the interview: really surplus clothing but otherwise clean and neat. .......to an interview with a fashion retailer.
Nothing wrong with her skills: she didnt "fit" the image they have of themselves......and Army Surplus wasnt it.
The underlying message: If you look like a model: apply. If not: dont.
But thats their "fit" and they arent alone. Every company gets to decide who "fits" and who doesnt.
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Lets take values:
They all say "Customer Service" which really means what?
Not much really:.....each company teaches or preaches it to the level they require.
It mostly means: friendly.
Yes folks: friendly personable people are in big demand.
Add to that: calm under pressure, sensible and every other skill your Mom told you to have.
Be polite.
Be fair to co workers.
Be nice people.
Nice people are saleable in the hiring market.
Be prepared to show niceness at interview.
The challenge for actual Retail Work: is that these might be the skills HR wants to see you demonstrate at interview:
and so you should.......
but real success in retail takes one heck of a lot more than niceness to succeed.
It usually takes flat out greed. Good retailers are hungry retailers.
Thus the most successful retail people can tell you what they sold two months ago:
but often cant tell you why Mary is upset that she was short changed 5 minutes on her break or even notice that she was.
Thats the oxymoron of retail:
its a people business
but not necessarily a social business.
Team players are rewarded more than high achievers..........thats the new normal.
So take heed in interviews superstar retailers!
They dont care at that stage that you can generate dollars:
they want to see how nice you are:
think
What Charities do you support?
_________________
Generational Fit:
Well foks this is a new buzzword. It means you better understand everything thats "new".
.........from fashion to technology.
You better have an active LinkedIn account.
You better know how to use the Cloud.
You better know ecommerce inside and out.
You better be enrolled in educational upgrades.
Why? because not so much where the firm is now: but where it thinks it is going. Hiring is done with the future in mind.
No one wants to buy old technology: nor people associated with old technology.
Your ability to get hired is directly related to how current and innovative you can show you are.
I was working with one senior candidate for a top level construction role:
he seemed to be a perfect fit.........except he didnt have a degree in anything:
just loads of practical experience.
Well this fact was a key issue at both his interviews:
Why?
Not so much about where the company is today but where it is going in the future.......what knowledge they anticipate they will require.............not about how something was done 10 years ago.
When I suggested he enroll in some online college upgrade courses: about $200 each: he balked.......he would only do that IF he got the job: NOT to get the job..........a $100k job.
Huh? ....200 dollars to make 100,000 seems like a good investment to me
This is where a lot of candidates are going wrong.
What you have to invest to get the job probably outstrips what you have to do to keep it.
If your education isnt current: you are at a disadvantage for "fit" to todays hirers.
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d) Near perfect matching to the job description:
If they say they want Apple Peelers with 6 years experience and a fork lift permit:
thats what they mean........
Well I have most of it: I am a quick learner and can pick up the rest easily.........doesnt cut it.
Look very carefully at that job description:
if you cant tick every single box and demonstrate that you have every single skill and experience in every category they list:
you better be prepared for the fight of your life if you get called to interview:
and you likely still wont be hired.
Why? because hirers honestly believe that if they just look hard and long enough: there is someone out there who will match their request perfectly.
Forget the old: Transferrable Skills thing: no one cares anymore.
If you are a store manager in groceries: you probably arent going to be a store manager in fashion.
If you are a fashion store manager in young trend dont think luxury fashion is interested in you.
Nearly all hiring is a lateral move..........from where you are to where you still are; only the name changed and maybe the pay got better.
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Summary:
Most of my clients anticipate that 2012 hiring nunbers will be the same as 2011........but less at the executive level and more at street level........more boots on the ground.
They also agree they are going to use job boards much less and social networking incuding recruiters more.
Candidates have to be aware that once you are posted on LinkedIn etc:
your skill set is going to match every other retailer at your level of career.
Its going to be who best can brand themselves.......
How your style and personality stands out from the others
that will make the difference between being selected and not
Personality and fit to the hiring firm is now deciding your career path:
in terms of who will hire you.
Senior workers and those without specialized education will have to work harder than ever to compete by upgrading and being able to present themselves as current.
Each client of mine say they will be introducing more and more technology to retail:
more innovations in merchandising, more to define their shopping experience from others.
There is no way to escape the generational gap that older workers face in retail. Its upgrade or go the way of the horse and buggy.
Even fashion retailers are increasingly asking for specialized degrees or diplomas in Fashion Marketing, Design, Purchase Management:........Retail is no longer the Default position until you get a REAL job.
For this one factor alone: most hirers see the bulk of their hiring going to the 30-45 age crowd.
Yet because of this demand: retailers that do "fit" are in great demand. Never has retail paid as much as it does today for this age group. Many roles compare favourably with engineering jobs.
We can agree or not: but hirers get the ultimate say in who they choose to hire and this is how they are thinking right now in retail.
In my next blog: the point of view of recruiters for 2012 will be put forward to compare.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
How to Absolutely Kill Interest In Your LinkedIn profile or Resume:
Absolutely nothing stalls interest in contacting you for career options than long winded profiles or resumes full of "fluff" words that mean absolutely nothing.
Mmmmmm: what are the favourite spirit killers?
1) Results oriented:.......as opposed to??.......don't care about results? really? what is the point of this phrase?
2) Passionate:.....as opposed to??......could care less?.....waste of words
3) Creative:.....Ok: you arent creative if you use the word Creative.......let your bio show you are creative......Recently have seen some great resumes with the actual logo of the retailers they have worked for inserted: very memorable.
4) Brand development expert:........Ok......How>? If you say it: prove it:.....most candidates dont realize they have to be a "brand" of their own:......not just a soldier in the massive army.
5) Unique:.....again: if you have to use the word unique: then you arent unique. A big long list of your home runs makes you unique: shows your unique talent.
6) Leader:......mmmmm.....prove it.
7) Solution oriented:........well if you are: What solutions do you favour? Which ones worked that you created?
8) Team player......unless you work for a retailer of one .........then you obviously have to work with a team....nothing is more meaningless than this phrae...
9) All round:......so: you can do everything....(no ego here....and who exactly is out to purchase "everything" talent: hirers want to hire specific skills.......not a buffet of various general abilities: Show what you are expert in
10) Seeking Career where I can use my talents:........sure: we all are.........So is the recruiter supposed to guess what you really want to do next?.........
All these buzz words are interest killers that mean nothing except you are good at "fluff" selling.........they hide real skills and goals you may have. It doesnt paint you as Executive: stuffing paints you as: ......&*($**^%$$...bluffing.
Recruiters dont have time to navigate through nonesense.
A clear concise portrait of who you are: what you are expert at: why you are expert aka proof of success and what you want to do next speeds up the probability of being contacted for a job you really do want to pursue.
Even better if your paragraphs are two sentences long. I can guarantee you: recruiter dont read: they scan. Long winded biographies go unread.
Even better when what you say per item is less than 90 words and in bullet form.
Todays employers want to solve their problems by hiring people who solve their problems.
If you cant show how you solve unique problems you want get picked up.
A profile that projects:
Here is what I do best
Here is the proof
Here is what I want next
is the one that will get contacts.
Junk is junk. .........there is no way to disguise it with fluff words.
Mmmmmm: what are the favourite spirit killers?
1) Results oriented:.......as opposed to??.......don't care about results? really? what is the point of this phrase?
2) Passionate:.....as opposed to??......could care less?.....waste of words
3) Creative:.....Ok: you arent creative if you use the word Creative.......let your bio show you are creative......Recently have seen some great resumes with the actual logo of the retailers they have worked for inserted: very memorable.
4) Brand development expert:........Ok......How>? If you say it: prove it:.....most candidates dont realize they have to be a "brand" of their own:......not just a soldier in the massive army.
5) Unique:.....again: if you have to use the word unique: then you arent unique. A big long list of your home runs makes you unique: shows your unique talent.
6) Leader:......mmmmm.....prove it.
7) Solution oriented:........well if you are: What solutions do you favour? Which ones worked that you created?
8) Team player......unless you work for a retailer of one .........then you obviously have to work with a team....nothing is more meaningless than this phrae...
9) All round:......so: you can do everything....(no ego here....and who exactly is out to purchase "everything" talent: hirers want to hire specific skills.......not a buffet of various general abilities: Show what you are expert in
10) Seeking Career where I can use my talents:........sure: we all are.........So is the recruiter supposed to guess what you really want to do next?.........
All these buzz words are interest killers that mean nothing except you are good at "fluff" selling.........they hide real skills and goals you may have. It doesnt paint you as Executive: stuffing paints you as: ......&*($**^%$$...bluffing.
Recruiters dont have time to navigate through nonesense.
A clear concise portrait of who you are: what you are expert at: why you are expert aka proof of success and what you want to do next speeds up the probability of being contacted for a job you really do want to pursue.
Even better if your paragraphs are two sentences long. I can guarantee you: recruiter dont read: they scan. Long winded biographies go unread.
Even better when what you say per item is less than 90 words and in bullet form.
Todays employers want to solve their problems by hiring people who solve their problems.
If you cant show how you solve unique problems you want get picked up.
A profile that projects:
Here is what I do best
Here is the proof
Here is what I want next
is the one that will get contacts.
Junk is junk. .........there is no way to disguise it with fluff words.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Attracting Passive Candidates: You Have to Sell!
Oftentimes people wonder what the difference is between HR searching for candidates and recruiters.
Simple. Selling.
HR spends enormous sums of money on passive recruiting techniques: job sites, corporate websites: internal postings: all of which only appeal to Active Candidates: mostly the unemployed or soon to be unemployed or On Their Way Out of their Company for various reasons.
Nothing especially wrong with that: but the facts are this represents only about 8% of the entire workforce at any given time and in retail: even less.
HRs have a strange aversion to hiring the unemployed: We don't want anyone someone else didn't want no matter what the reason.
As the retail workforce continues to shrink in availability: this attitude will have to change. The recession dumped lots of very qualified people on the market a few years ago but the assumption is they kept the best workers.
Not so: more often they kept the "cheapest" workers to contain payroll costs.
So now its time to top up again. You can bet these Active searchers will indeed find a percentage of these posted roles: if HR will even look at them.
Recruiters therefore don't have a lot of motivation to promote Active job seekers: companies don't pay for what they believe they can obtain themselves.
They get paid to find Passive candidates: those that are reasonably happy at jobs they already have.
Or: the other 92% of the workforce.
Next to none of these workers ever check out a job site of any kind.
(Well let's face it: the 'drop' rate (completing the application process) is huge for online job postings regardless of being an Active seeker or not: something 90%+.)
Corporate jobsites fare only slightly better: around 17% completion.
Why? Mainly because it's so time consuming, confusing and unrewarding. Ever try to go through a Taleo based application? Wow: nightmare of frustration.
At the end of such a process: a candidate is lucky to recieve: Due to the High Volume of Applicants you will ONLY hear from us if..........If you Won the Jobsite Lottery!
Candidates know the success rate for applying online is around 1 in 200-300 chances to be hired.
Candidates know that online applications are nothing more than a lazy HR department attempting to "not be bothered" with most people: to make their own lives easier by getting candidates to pre-qualify themselves.
Thanks for nothing!
Jobsites are nearly entirely ineffective in recruiting anymore. No one wants to play anymore. It's like finding the Cadbury $250,000 Key in your Chocolate Bar..........How many bars do you have to eat to win?
Jobsites can't Sell the Job or the Firm very effectively.
They are nothing more than laundry lists of
WE NEED:........WE WILL TAKE FROM YOU:
If you are:
The most amazing candidate in the world
Can jump every hurdle we have set to exclude most human beings
Work for some anonymous unstated prize of undetermined value
Then maybeeeeeeeeeeeeee...........we will talk to you.
Convince me to hire you!
Right.
Wrong:
Unless time has warped and it's still the 1940s!
Finding candidates is a courtship process no different than finding customers.
People have to be convinced there is value in considering switching loyalties to your firm.
Recruiters need to have something to SELL about your firm: something special.
Not many people are interested in lateral moves for lateral benefits.
But first of all they have to SELL your firms Brand:
the products as well as the reputation.
There has to be a Value Proposition; a reason to RISK changing companies.
If you are coming to the table with the same old HR processes which are notoriously candidate unfriendly:.....
....and the same old compensation packages: called: Prove you are worth this money
....and the same old 3 month evaulation periods of "we will try you out"
....and the same old vacation packages which you usually lose with a job change
....and the same old sweat shop hours
....and worst of all you are offering a lateral career move
...........then what can a recruiter Sell about you? to entice away a candidate from a job and a company they are basically happy with?
Some companies only call in recruiters when their own miserable processes have failed.
Others use them because they really do care about creating the best possible team.
Whatever the scenario: a recruiter has to find ways to package your firm to appeal to the type of candidates you want.
Yup that's right. We have to Sell YOU......sell your brand to candidates.
Recruiting works in reverse to how HR works:
Mr. Candidate: Sell ME..........on reasons we should hire YOU
HR and Recruiting have the same end goal: but use totally different methods.
HR says Sell Me on You!
Recruiters say Sell You to Them!
HR often thinks: Why do I need a recruiter? Aren't we doing the same thing?
Nope.
Recruiters are salespeople: out there selling your brand across the entire pool of retail candidates.
They get paid to sell. Period.
A CHRP type designation counts for nothing in the sales game.
Well is it any different than hiring our own cheaper recruiters?
Yup.
Your own staff recruiters just can't make the intimate relationships with competitors staff: unless they are ready to quit anyway: and are thus actually Active candidates.
Recruiters develop deep data bases of Passive candidates looking to move when the right Story comes along........things they would never confess to a direct competitor.
In house recruiters are basically an extension of HRs already extensive Active candidate recruitment overhead but still can't touch the Passive pool.
There are only two pools of candidates:
8% Active
92% Passive
There has never been an effective way to reach most Passive candidates other than outside Recruiters.
The stats are:
Job boards: 3.6% .............hire rate
Newsprint: 7% ............. hire rate
Random Apps: 7% .............hire rate
Job Fairs: 8% ..............hire rate
Random Walk Ins: 12% .............hire rate
Staff Refer: 12% ............ .hire rate
Corp Job Sites: 17% ..............hire rate
Recruiters: 56% ...............hire rate
HR continues to spend ridiculous amounts of money on methods that are measurable failures:
with the lowest possible Return on Investment........
If they were in Finance or Marketing: they would be fired for such lousy results.
All the while thinking Recruiters "cost too much".........
The only method that costs too much is one that doesn't work!
When you retain a Recruiter:
You are actually retaining a Top Sales Professional.
The better they are at selling your brand: the better hiring results you will have!
Just that simple.
If you don't have something great to sell and someone to sell your brand to candidates:
You will not get the best talent.
Simple. Selling.
HR spends enormous sums of money on passive recruiting techniques: job sites, corporate websites: internal postings: all of which only appeal to Active Candidates: mostly the unemployed or soon to be unemployed or On Their Way Out of their Company for various reasons.
Nothing especially wrong with that: but the facts are this represents only about 8% of the entire workforce at any given time and in retail: even less.
HRs have a strange aversion to hiring the unemployed: We don't want anyone someone else didn't want no matter what the reason.
As the retail workforce continues to shrink in availability: this attitude will have to change. The recession dumped lots of very qualified people on the market a few years ago but the assumption is they kept the best workers.
Not so: more often they kept the "cheapest" workers to contain payroll costs.
So now its time to top up again. You can bet these Active searchers will indeed find a percentage of these posted roles: if HR will even look at them.
Recruiters therefore don't have a lot of motivation to promote Active job seekers: companies don't pay for what they believe they can obtain themselves.
They get paid to find Passive candidates: those that are reasonably happy at jobs they already have.
Or: the other 92% of the workforce.
Next to none of these workers ever check out a job site of any kind.
(Well let's face it: the 'drop' rate (completing the application process) is huge for online job postings regardless of being an Active seeker or not: something 90%+.)
Corporate jobsites fare only slightly better: around 17% completion.
Why? Mainly because it's so time consuming, confusing and unrewarding. Ever try to go through a Taleo based application? Wow: nightmare of frustration.
At the end of such a process: a candidate is lucky to recieve: Due to the High Volume of Applicants you will ONLY hear from us if..........If you Won the Jobsite Lottery!
Candidates know the success rate for applying online is around 1 in 200-300 chances to be hired.
Candidates know that online applications are nothing more than a lazy HR department attempting to "not be bothered" with most people: to make their own lives easier by getting candidates to pre-qualify themselves.
Thanks for nothing!
Jobsites are nearly entirely ineffective in recruiting anymore. No one wants to play anymore. It's like finding the Cadbury $250,000 Key in your Chocolate Bar..........How many bars do you have to eat to win?
Jobsites can't Sell the Job or the Firm very effectively.
They are nothing more than laundry lists of
WE NEED:........WE WILL TAKE FROM YOU:
If you are:
The most amazing candidate in the world
Can jump every hurdle we have set to exclude most human beings
Work for some anonymous unstated prize of undetermined value
Then maybeeeeeeeeeeeeee...........we will talk to you.
Convince me to hire you!
Right.
Wrong:
Unless time has warped and it's still the 1940s!
Finding candidates is a courtship process no different than finding customers.
People have to be convinced there is value in considering switching loyalties to your firm.
Recruiters need to have something to SELL about your firm: something special.
Not many people are interested in lateral moves for lateral benefits.
But first of all they have to SELL your firms Brand:
the products as well as the reputation.
There has to be a Value Proposition; a reason to RISK changing companies.
If you are coming to the table with the same old HR processes which are notoriously candidate unfriendly:.....
....and the same old compensation packages: called: Prove you are worth this money
....and the same old 3 month evaulation periods of "we will try you out"
....and the same old vacation packages which you usually lose with a job change
....and the same old sweat shop hours
....and worst of all you are offering a lateral career move
...........then what can a recruiter Sell about you? to entice away a candidate from a job and a company they are basically happy with?
Some companies only call in recruiters when their own miserable processes have failed.
Others use them because they really do care about creating the best possible team.
Whatever the scenario: a recruiter has to find ways to package your firm to appeal to the type of candidates you want.
Yup that's right. We have to Sell YOU......sell your brand to candidates.
Recruiting works in reverse to how HR works:
Mr. Candidate: Sell ME..........on reasons we should hire YOU
HR and Recruiting have the same end goal: but use totally different methods.
HR says Sell Me on You!
Recruiters say Sell You to Them!
HR often thinks: Why do I need a recruiter? Aren't we doing the same thing?
Nope.
Recruiters are salespeople: out there selling your brand across the entire pool of retail candidates.
They get paid to sell. Period.
A CHRP type designation counts for nothing in the sales game.
Well is it any different than hiring our own cheaper recruiters?
Yup.
Your own staff recruiters just can't make the intimate relationships with competitors staff: unless they are ready to quit anyway: and are thus actually Active candidates.
Recruiters develop deep data bases of Passive candidates looking to move when the right Story comes along........things they would never confess to a direct competitor.
In house recruiters are basically an extension of HRs already extensive Active candidate recruitment overhead but still can't touch the Passive pool.
There are only two pools of candidates:
8% Active
92% Passive
There has never been an effective way to reach most Passive candidates other than outside Recruiters.
The stats are:
Job boards: 3.6% .............hire rate
Newsprint: 7% ............. hire rate
Random Apps: 7% .............hire rate
Job Fairs: 8% ..............hire rate
Random Walk Ins: 12% .............hire rate
Staff Refer: 12% ............ .hire rate
Corp Job Sites: 17% ..............hire rate
Recruiters: 56% ...............hire rate
HR continues to spend ridiculous amounts of money on methods that are measurable failures:
with the lowest possible Return on Investment........
If they were in Finance or Marketing: they would be fired for such lousy results.
All the while thinking Recruiters "cost too much".........
The only method that costs too much is one that doesn't work!
When you retain a Recruiter:
You are actually retaining a Top Sales Professional.
The better they are at selling your brand: the better hiring results you will have!
Just that simple.
If you don't have something great to sell and someone to sell your brand to candidates:
You will not get the best talent.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Insanity and Retail HIring: What's going on?
Now that Mays numbers are out: the unemployment has fallen again: to 7.4% we know that translates into less than 2% in the Retail Sector. The whole game just got harder.
What's wrong with Retail hiring anyway?
Well lets start with Job Postings: no matter where they are:
For some bizarre reason HR people think they have to write highly complex job descriptions as if everyone they are hiring are nuclear scientists.
A) Candidates dont read them anyway
B) No one understands them or what the heck the actual job is: not recruiters: not the HR people themselves
C) They arent enticing: they have all the appeal of a Blood Donation form
D) They ask for Dream Candidates to Apply: that one in a million Perfect Person Only who can match all the requested credentials
E) They focus mainly on skill sets and not Attitude
F) Candidates arent stupid: They know they are a Screenng OUT process: not a Welcome In process
G) They never tell you anything about what you will get in return for applying and being hired:
"exciting career" means exactly what?
---------
Today I will just talk about using common sense in Job Descriptions if you want to attract candidates:
I challenge you to pick any old job you want on Monster or the other job boards: cover up the title of the job and the company: then read it out loud to anyone at all: and ask them: What Job is this an ad for?
I tried it for a Store Mgr role: only 2 out of 10 Store Managers I read it to could identify the job as even being a retail job!!
Just : Tell it Like it IS!
What is the matter with saying:
Job Title: Store Manager
"We need someone to run a 10,000 sq foot box store for us with 100+ staff"
"We need someone who has done it before because its a "take over today" role without much training time"
Category:
Fashion:
"It's really important that you come with lots of fashion knowledge so you can best help our customers make fashion choices and you can teach staff too"
Skills:
"We are going to want you to show us your knowledge in:
inventory
display
scheduling
keeping on top of meeting sales quotas
so that we both feel comfortable you have all the tools you need to be successful"
Experience: You need to say WHY you are asking for experience
I have seen retailers posting for essentially $11.00 Hr part time jobs asking for University Degrees.
Why not the following?
"People who have done this job for about 3-5 years previously have the easiest time being successful because they have already faced most of the situations that will come up in this role"
"People who have college training in fashion have a big advantage in being successful with us"
Relevant Information: Make it Real!
-We do 3 interviews over 3 weeks
-We want someone to start August 1st
-We will give you 2 weeks training in another store
Personality:
Why not just tell the canidates what kind of person you want right in the ad?
"Our most successful people:
-Love working someowhere with a hectic ever changing pace
-Don't mind standing all day
-Really find helping customers with fashion choices to be a blast!
-Love to talk talk talk all day
-Thrive under pressure
-Have fashion or art or design backgrounds before they joined us
-Enjoy being in charge and making tough decisions
-Look forward to lots of change: transfer to other stores: moving up the ladder quickly
What's in it for YOU!
Stop pussy footing around salary:
Why is everyone so shy about announcing what they pay?
If your company pays well: Scream It!
-"Fabulous pay 75k+: Industry leader!"
if it doesnt:
-"Reasonable base: 50k region: Monster bonus and commission potentials!"
Don't think that using price is somehow distasteful to attract candidates: it's going to come up anyway.
Don't think: We don't want people who are motviated by money. Really? In retail? That's exactly the type of people you want: people motivated by sales and bonus structures.
Don't think your competition doesn't already know what you pay anyway and that you are giving away some top secret competitive issue. Believe me: there are tons of websites out there called "XXX Pay levels" What you pay is all over the internet long before you post.
Do you think somehow if you keep it a secret you can scam a candidate into accepting low pay?
Well if you can: that's someone who is going to leave you soon anyway.
Benefits:
Just say what it is:
and
For Petes Sake: Sell the darn Job! Make it worth working for you! It doesn't have to be all cash:
We Care Sick Days program
We Care Personal Issues program
Access to: Counseling, Education programs, Upgrading and Development Leaves
Scheduled Cell Phone/Internet breaks.....**
Free instore Wi Fi
Flex Time programs
1 All expenses paid Week per Year Conference Training
Merchandise Discounts
Monthly Contests and Rewards
Bi-monthly Performance Guidance
** the days of the "coffee" break are dead as any kind of relief from the misery of the job: this isn't the 1940s!
Retailers have to eliminate the: SLAVE concept so often posted in Job Descriptions
(and you are really lucky if we pick you!)
coming from a time of surplus talent
to a Google Job Posting: of Why would you want to work anywhere else because it's such an awesome career!"
Speaking personally: the one client I have the easiest time recruiting for is one that offers massive amounts of personal training.
It's such a powerful tool: money falls off the radar in discussions: candidates are just so overwhelmed that an employer would invest that much in them and that they will become better retailers!
--------------
Nuke the old job postings and start Selling! After all: you are a Retailer! How hard can it be?
What's wrong with Retail hiring anyway?
Well lets start with Job Postings: no matter where they are:
For some bizarre reason HR people think they have to write highly complex job descriptions as if everyone they are hiring are nuclear scientists.
A) Candidates dont read them anyway
B) No one understands them or what the heck the actual job is: not recruiters: not the HR people themselves
C) They arent enticing: they have all the appeal of a Blood Donation form
D) They ask for Dream Candidates to Apply: that one in a million Perfect Person Only who can match all the requested credentials
E) They focus mainly on skill sets and not Attitude
F) Candidates arent stupid: They know they are a Screenng OUT process: not a Welcome In process
G) They never tell you anything about what you will get in return for applying and being hired:
"exciting career" means exactly what?
---------
Today I will just talk about using common sense in Job Descriptions if you want to attract candidates:
I challenge you to pick any old job you want on Monster or the other job boards: cover up the title of the job and the company: then read it out loud to anyone at all: and ask them: What Job is this an ad for?
I tried it for a Store Mgr role: only 2 out of 10 Store Managers I read it to could identify the job as even being a retail job!!
Just : Tell it Like it IS!
What is the matter with saying:
Job Title: Store Manager
"We need someone to run a 10,000 sq foot box store for us with 100+ staff"
"We need someone who has done it before because its a "take over today" role without much training time"
Category:
Fashion:
"It's really important that you come with lots of fashion knowledge so you can best help our customers make fashion choices and you can teach staff too"
Skills:
"We are going to want you to show us your knowledge in:
inventory
display
scheduling
keeping on top of meeting sales quotas
so that we both feel comfortable you have all the tools you need to be successful"
Experience: You need to say WHY you are asking for experience
I have seen retailers posting for essentially $11.00 Hr part time jobs asking for University Degrees.
Why not the following?
"People who have done this job for about 3-5 years previously have the easiest time being successful because they have already faced most of the situations that will come up in this role"
"People who have college training in fashion have a big advantage in being successful with us"
Relevant Information: Make it Real!
-We do 3 interviews over 3 weeks
-We want someone to start August 1st
-We will give you 2 weeks training in another store
Personality:
Why not just tell the canidates what kind of person you want right in the ad?
"Our most successful people:
-Love working someowhere with a hectic ever changing pace
-Don't mind standing all day
-Really find helping customers with fashion choices to be a blast!
-Love to talk talk talk all day
-Thrive under pressure
-Have fashion or art or design backgrounds before they joined us
-Enjoy being in charge and making tough decisions
-Look forward to lots of change: transfer to other stores: moving up the ladder quickly
What's in it for YOU!
Stop pussy footing around salary:
Why is everyone so shy about announcing what they pay?
If your company pays well: Scream It!
-"Fabulous pay 75k+: Industry leader!"
if it doesnt:
-"Reasonable base: 50k region: Monster bonus and commission potentials!"
Don't think that using price is somehow distasteful to attract candidates: it's going to come up anyway.
Don't think: We don't want people who are motviated by money. Really? In retail? That's exactly the type of people you want: people motivated by sales and bonus structures.
Don't think your competition doesn't already know what you pay anyway and that you are giving away some top secret competitive issue. Believe me: there are tons of websites out there called "XXX Pay levels" What you pay is all over the internet long before you post.
Do you think somehow if you keep it a secret you can scam a candidate into accepting low pay?
Well if you can: that's someone who is going to leave you soon anyway.
Benefits:
Just say what it is:
and
For Petes Sake: Sell the darn Job! Make it worth working for you! It doesn't have to be all cash:
We Care Sick Days program
We Care Personal Issues program
Access to: Counseling, Education programs, Upgrading and Development Leaves
Scheduled Cell Phone/Internet breaks.....**
Free instore Wi Fi
Flex Time programs
1 All expenses paid Week per Year Conference Training
Merchandise Discounts
Monthly Contests and Rewards
Bi-monthly Performance Guidance
** the days of the "coffee" break are dead as any kind of relief from the misery of the job: this isn't the 1940s!
Retailers have to eliminate the: SLAVE concept so often posted in Job Descriptions
(and you are really lucky if we pick you!)
coming from a time of surplus talent
to a Google Job Posting: of Why would you want to work anywhere else because it's such an awesome career!"
Speaking personally: the one client I have the easiest time recruiting for is one that offers massive amounts of personal training.
It's such a powerful tool: money falls off the radar in discussions: candidates are just so overwhelmed that an employer would invest that much in them and that they will become better retailers!
--------------
Nuke the old job postings and start Selling! After all: you are a Retailer! How hard can it be?
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Recruiting: Talent Pool vs Job Applicants
In Canada where the unemployment rate for skilled retail workers is less than 2%......the concept of simply posting a job opening and the masses of top talent will flood in to apply:
are simply gone.
Perhaps there are a few categories of retail jobs that still attract larger pools:
but overall:
These people are really applying to the "brand" of the firm
rather than the job itself.
Victorias Secret attracts applicants just from brand identifaction: it looks like a great product to be associated with. It looks like fun to work there.
Same with Apple Stores.
Its the corporate brand that has the pulling power for candidates these days:
the reputation of being fair: both to staff and customers
the excitement of representing a certain product
the prospect of growth and career upsides
the reputation of great compensation.
Candidates are attracted to the reputation of a firm long before they ever decide to apply: long before changing firms crosses their minds.
If all the above are satisfied: then its the ease of the application process that defines the moment the candidate puts his or her hat forward to apply.
The very day the thought crosses their mind: is the day they want to chase a new firm not when the company decides they will create a job posting.
Thats where having a talent pool rather than simply posting a job pays off.
Having a deep community of contacts waiting to be notified if company X opens for applicants is the most valuable commodity a recruiter has.
Instead of the old system of posting a fresh job: then grueling on through to source candidates or wait for cold applicants to find the news: today its about having a team of retailers already committed to the idea of working for company X.........who just need the nod and they are "in".
This is what on staff corporate recruiters usually cant accomplish. They arent paid to do this.
Their goals are to find specific people to fill specific openings for their firm only..........not build networks of "friends" that they follow for years throughout their various moves in their retail careers........assisting and guiding.
In that sense they arent true "Facebook" style friends which means they arent full social media recruiters: even if thats the medium they use. But they are certainly wonderful at advancing the attraction of their brand to pull people towards them.
Contract recruiters usually have communities of retailers across every category and a variety of firms on "standby" waiting for the news flash: their company of interest is now on open call.
Candidates are committing first and foremost to which companies they are interested in joining.
Such confidential information is really only the property of trusted contract recruiters. People dont usually broadcast that information.
This is the critical difference between on staff recruiters and job postings vs contract recruiters.
There is just no way to compete with the depth of the talent pool developed by contract recruiters because their living depends upon not just how big and broad their candidate pool is; but how "excellent" they are as well.
.......especially those with highly developed virtual skills can out-run regular recruiters by weeks and even months to market with best candidates..........because they already know who is available and wanting to work for your firm!
In todays market: simply Posting an Open Role: either on a job board or on social media is by far the slowest and least effective strategy at pulling in the candidates you want!
are simply gone.
Perhaps there are a few categories of retail jobs that still attract larger pools:
but overall:
These people are really applying to the "brand" of the firm
rather than the job itself.
Victorias Secret attracts applicants just from brand identifaction: it looks like a great product to be associated with. It looks like fun to work there.
Same with Apple Stores.
Its the corporate brand that has the pulling power for candidates these days:
the reputation of being fair: both to staff and customers
the excitement of representing a certain product
the prospect of growth and career upsides
the reputation of great compensation.
Candidates are attracted to the reputation of a firm long before they ever decide to apply: long before changing firms crosses their minds.
If all the above are satisfied: then its the ease of the application process that defines the moment the candidate puts his or her hat forward to apply.
The very day the thought crosses their mind: is the day they want to chase a new firm not when the company decides they will create a job posting.
Thats where having a talent pool rather than simply posting a job pays off.
Having a deep community of contacts waiting to be notified if company X opens for applicants is the most valuable commodity a recruiter has.
Instead of the old system of posting a fresh job: then grueling on through to source candidates or wait for cold applicants to find the news: today its about having a team of retailers already committed to the idea of working for company X.........who just need the nod and they are "in".
This is what on staff corporate recruiters usually cant accomplish. They arent paid to do this.
Their goals are to find specific people to fill specific openings for their firm only..........not build networks of "friends" that they follow for years throughout their various moves in their retail careers........assisting and guiding.
In that sense they arent true "Facebook" style friends which means they arent full social media recruiters: even if thats the medium they use. But they are certainly wonderful at advancing the attraction of their brand to pull people towards them.
Contract recruiters usually have communities of retailers across every category and a variety of firms on "standby" waiting for the news flash: their company of interest is now on open call.
Candidates are committing first and foremost to which companies they are interested in joining.
Such confidential information is really only the property of trusted contract recruiters. People dont usually broadcast that information.
This is the critical difference between on staff recruiters and job postings vs contract recruiters.
There is just no way to compete with the depth of the talent pool developed by contract recruiters because their living depends upon not just how big and broad their candidate pool is; but how "excellent" they are as well.
.......especially those with highly developed virtual skills can out-run regular recruiters by weeks and even months to market with best candidates..........because they already know who is available and wanting to work for your firm!
In todays market: simply Posting an Open Role: either on a job board or on social media is by far the slowest and least effective strategy at pulling in the candidates you want!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Real Time Retail Recruiting:
My new website should be up and running within the next week and one thing you will notice thats different from every other recruiting site is the Real Time Feature.
Everyone from clients to candidates will be able to simply click on the feature and receive real time answers to enquiries. On demand!
What a lot of HR is not fully grasping: is that Social Media for Recruiting is exactly that: SOCIAL
Its a two way dialogue created between people with shared interests. In this case: the desire to find the perfect career connections.
Its not about simply posting an available job on Facebook or LinkedIn as if they were just free job boards and the masses will flock to you. Many of you will have found out already thats a near waste of time in heavily recruited markets.
Its about creating meaningful dialogues with people you develop relationships with.
This requires openess and a true voice.
Thats right: Openess.
That means talking to both clients and candidates as friends on a first name basis.
Its about having a direct and open email access 24/7 for your HR purposes. No answering machine is required because the phone is never switched off: so to speak.
Anyone and everyone who wants to work at your firm should be able to send you a message with:
-no intermediary
-no screening or psychological testing
-no pre-qualifying
-no horrific contract like job postings
-no anonymous HR staff
-no blocked emails
-no blocked numbers
But just as : Friends of Your Brand: Just the way your Customers can Reach You!
Thats true social media working as a recruiting tool! A "John says to Mary: check out XXX company and I know Suzanne: she works with them"......and it all happens within a few minutes: Mary can click on my site: click Real Time: and someone is talking to Mary about company XXX......getting her hooked up.
Hooked Up: yes thats what recruiters really do: and not in the romantic sense: in the career sense.
Our real job is to act as social viaducts: to stream people towards connecting with each other.
Social Recruiting is Active Recruiting: Active Engagement: Active Involvement in the lives of the candidates: Active Brand messaging for the Clients. Actively make matches in real time.
Social Media Recruiting is digging into the fabric of corporate life. Those who do it: have access to the top candidates long before they ever even think of applying.
Like Zappos Agents: As a service agent: my role is to provide as much help to my clients and candidates as I can:
-keeping them abreast of latest retail news
-offering inspiration when discouraged
-finding lost cats: (no not really lost cats: but I would if asked!!!)
Whether or not I have a signed client doesnt prevent me from recommending firms to candidates.
If I know of a role that would suit perfectly a certain candidate: I "hook them up" for free.
Social Recruiting is all about building relationships with retailers on both sides of the fence: hirers and candidates........its just not a one way street.
It just amazes me that so many HR types still have blocked emails:
as if it was the 70s and talent was in a surplus situation.
I recently wrote one Director of Ops saying: Gosh I have lots of people who want to work for your firm: Where can they apply? Is there a person? An email? A number? No reply........my email was then blocked instead.
Great social skills HR! You can be sure I now tell people: NOT to bother with that firm. Who wants to work for a Yesterday Company?
It further amazes me how many HR people think they exist outside of the paid recruiting industry and must block and defend from us as well.
How do you know the day you want a top Directors or VP role: that I wouldn't call you first?
Well I wont: because you are unfriendly........fatal personality for HR I would think.
Recruiters and HR departments must learn to work as one community........the community of talent.......the social community ...........
I have many great relationships now where firms will send me referrals for people they dont have roles for and vice versa......like Friends........Like Facebook Friends!
Live people. Live authentic voices. Live interaction. One Global Retail Village.
If you aren't in it: you will be shut out of the talent industry.
Social media IS the new town square of 200 years ago. Whole new game. Whole new rules.
I invite everyone to come and play with my new website shortly:
its anything BUT a traditional recruiting website!!!
Everyone from clients to candidates will be able to simply click on the feature and receive real time answers to enquiries. On demand!
What a lot of HR is not fully grasping: is that Social Media for Recruiting is exactly that: SOCIAL
Its a two way dialogue created between people with shared interests. In this case: the desire to find the perfect career connections.
Its not about simply posting an available job on Facebook or LinkedIn as if they were just free job boards and the masses will flock to you. Many of you will have found out already thats a near waste of time in heavily recruited markets.
Its about creating meaningful dialogues with people you develop relationships with.
This requires openess and a true voice.
Thats right: Openess.
That means talking to both clients and candidates as friends on a first name basis.
Its about having a direct and open email access 24/7 for your HR purposes. No answering machine is required because the phone is never switched off: so to speak.
Anyone and everyone who wants to work at your firm should be able to send you a message with:
-no intermediary
-no screening or psychological testing
-no pre-qualifying
-no horrific contract like job postings
-no anonymous HR staff
-no blocked emails
-no blocked numbers
But just as : Friends of Your Brand: Just the way your Customers can Reach You!
Thats true social media working as a recruiting tool! A "John says to Mary: check out XXX company and I know Suzanne: she works with them"......and it all happens within a few minutes: Mary can click on my site: click Real Time: and someone is talking to Mary about company XXX......getting her hooked up.
Hooked Up: yes thats what recruiters really do: and not in the romantic sense: in the career sense.
Our real job is to act as social viaducts: to stream people towards connecting with each other.
Social Recruiting is Active Recruiting: Active Engagement: Active Involvement in the lives of the candidates: Active Brand messaging for the Clients. Actively make matches in real time.
Social Media Recruiting is digging into the fabric of corporate life. Those who do it: have access to the top candidates long before they ever even think of applying.
Like Zappos Agents: As a service agent: my role is to provide as much help to my clients and candidates as I can:
-keeping them abreast of latest retail news
-offering inspiration when discouraged
-finding lost cats: (no not really lost cats: but I would if asked!!!)
Whether or not I have a signed client doesnt prevent me from recommending firms to candidates.
If I know of a role that would suit perfectly a certain candidate: I "hook them up" for free.
Social Recruiting is all about building relationships with retailers on both sides of the fence: hirers and candidates........its just not a one way street.
It just amazes me that so many HR types still have blocked emails:
as if it was the 70s and talent was in a surplus situation.
I recently wrote one Director of Ops saying: Gosh I have lots of people who want to work for your firm: Where can they apply? Is there a person? An email? A number? No reply........my email was then blocked instead.
Great social skills HR! You can be sure I now tell people: NOT to bother with that firm. Who wants to work for a Yesterday Company?
It further amazes me how many HR people think they exist outside of the paid recruiting industry and must block and defend from us as well.
How do you know the day you want a top Directors or VP role: that I wouldn't call you first?
Well I wont: because you are unfriendly........fatal personality for HR I would think.
Recruiters and HR departments must learn to work as one community........the community of talent.......the social community ...........
I have many great relationships now where firms will send me referrals for people they dont have roles for and vice versa......like Friends........Like Facebook Friends!
Live people. Live authentic voices. Live interaction. One Global Retail Village.
If you aren't in it: you will be shut out of the talent industry.
Social media IS the new town square of 200 years ago. Whole new game. Whole new rules.
I invite everyone to come and play with my new website shortly:
its anything BUT a traditional recruiting website!!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Best Retail Leaders I Ever Worked For
Retail leadership: the number of books and articles written on this topic line the shelves of bookstores business sections: mostly by non-retailers.........mostly by academic types.
There is supposed to be something magical about it:..........
You need courses to learn how to do it..........
Often military leaders are pointed to as examples of leadership:
men follow to their deaths: they believe so strongly in the message of the golden leader.
And of course the argument comes up whether true leaders are born or developed.
My first day on the job as a store manager I asked my district manager what advice he could give me to be successful and he replied: Do Business.
Do Business.
Thats the same direction he gave everyone. He never said another word. Never gave another minute of training. Because at the end of the day: thats all that counted.
Many of you will remember good old Phil Gardiner from Windsor: of the now defunct Rizzo and Rizzo: Belinda and Brother shoe store chain.
Some said he was tyrant: others were shocked at his tactics.
Phil was known to arrive at your store: look at the numbers and tear the store apart.
Phil was known to look at the numbers during a sidewalk sale and walk across the street and ask the first person he saw to come over and try on shoes.
Phil was not shy: He put money in the till whatever way he had to do it.
Anyone who worked for Phil never forgot him.
His leadership by example was simple:
Sell things. Make money.
But even earlier than Phil I worked as a teen for the US Shoe Corporation:
headed by Bernie Gutman.
One day out of the blue Bernie walked into our new store. Not knowing who he was, when he headed for the stock room, I, at the bold age of 17, asked the President of the worlds then largest shoe company for identification. Lol........
Bernie picked up a shoe box and pointed to the coding system:
(years before bar codes:)
and explained the numbers and what they meant.
Simple: each number stood for a letter of the alphabet: and all 10 letters spelled out:
MAKE PROFIT
DO BUSINESS: MAKE PROFIT
Two fantastic leaders: two simple retail messages.
The Goal of the Game.
Thats really all you need to know to be successful in retail.
Thats all a leader has to communicate to his staff: the goals of the game called retail.
Both of these men lived and breathed these goals: it was their identity.
They were happy if that is all you remembered about them: Do Business: Make Profit
How you achieve these goals:
well thats open to debate:
innovation
customer service
pricing
creative visual merchandising
Doesnt matter.
The strategy of how to best play the game can be taught.
The mental mindset of living the goals is another thing.
I am from the school that believes the fire in the belly for retail work is inborn.
It cannot be taught.......
anymore than you can teach a true retailer to be happy as an accountant crunching numbers in a cubicle all day isolated from others.
That internal fire: the love of the game: the get up and go to achieve goals day after day: the thrill of the deal: or the sale
thats natural.
Retailers are sprinters:
they love daily races:
they love contests
they love challenge
and crave victory
Your staff has it or they dont.
You cant "leadership" your way to making them love the game of retail.
I always cringe at the words: How do you Motivate your staff?
Are you kidding? If you have to "motivate" retail staff:
then you have the wrong staff.
Its more often: How do you manage retail staff who always want to win and race and never do the daily and necessary grunt work of stocking, etc.
All the best retailers want to play the game at full force:
they hate slow sales days
they hate no challenge
It doesnt matter if they are in head office merchandising roles or on the sales floor:
The Deal: making the Deal: closing the Sale: thats what they live for.
Because its their nature. They race because they are racehorses.
Leadership as social work doesnt belong in retail. What belongs in retail is an entire team of racehorses: Nordstroms is the perfect example of hiring racehorses.
Best Buy is a great example with their policy of Results Only.......for staff.
its a policy of "we wont manage and motivate you"
You do that yourself:..........and the results will speak for you.
Get the job done: You are accountable to get the job done: whatever way you can........whatever hours you need: few or many: whenever you feel the time is right:.....you pick your own hours.
A smart policy of hiring true retailers has given Best Buy fantastic productivity results. So staggering in fact: this policy of not managing and leading: just hiring right: they want to find a way to implement it into store level as well.
Because the "leadership" message is: Do Business.
Thats all the leadership you need in retail. Do Business: make profit.
There is supposed to be something magical about it:..........
You need courses to learn how to do it..........
Often military leaders are pointed to as examples of leadership:
men follow to their deaths: they believe so strongly in the message of the golden leader.
And of course the argument comes up whether true leaders are born or developed.
My first day on the job as a store manager I asked my district manager what advice he could give me to be successful and he replied: Do Business.
Do Business.
Thats the same direction he gave everyone. He never said another word. Never gave another minute of training. Because at the end of the day: thats all that counted.
Many of you will remember good old Phil Gardiner from Windsor: of the now defunct Rizzo and Rizzo: Belinda and Brother shoe store chain.
Some said he was tyrant: others were shocked at his tactics.
Phil was known to arrive at your store: look at the numbers and tear the store apart.
Phil was known to look at the numbers during a sidewalk sale and walk across the street and ask the first person he saw to come over and try on shoes.
Phil was not shy: He put money in the till whatever way he had to do it.
Anyone who worked for Phil never forgot him.
His leadership by example was simple:
Sell things. Make money.
But even earlier than Phil I worked as a teen for the US Shoe Corporation:
headed by Bernie Gutman.
One day out of the blue Bernie walked into our new store. Not knowing who he was, when he headed for the stock room, I, at the bold age of 17, asked the President of the worlds then largest shoe company for identification. Lol........
Bernie picked up a shoe box and pointed to the coding system:
(years before bar codes:)
and explained the numbers and what they meant.
Simple: each number stood for a letter of the alphabet: and all 10 letters spelled out:
MAKE PROFIT
DO BUSINESS: MAKE PROFIT
Two fantastic leaders: two simple retail messages.
The Goal of the Game.
Thats really all you need to know to be successful in retail.
Thats all a leader has to communicate to his staff: the goals of the game called retail.
Both of these men lived and breathed these goals: it was their identity.
They were happy if that is all you remembered about them: Do Business: Make Profit
How you achieve these goals:
well thats open to debate:
innovation
customer service
pricing
creative visual merchandising
Doesnt matter.
The strategy of how to best play the game can be taught.
The mental mindset of living the goals is another thing.
I am from the school that believes the fire in the belly for retail work is inborn.
It cannot be taught.......
anymore than you can teach a true retailer to be happy as an accountant crunching numbers in a cubicle all day isolated from others.
That internal fire: the love of the game: the get up and go to achieve goals day after day: the thrill of the deal: or the sale
thats natural.
Retailers are sprinters:
they love daily races:
they love contests
they love challenge
and crave victory
Your staff has it or they dont.
You cant "leadership" your way to making them love the game of retail.
I always cringe at the words: How do you Motivate your staff?
Are you kidding? If you have to "motivate" retail staff:
then you have the wrong staff.
Its more often: How do you manage retail staff who always want to win and race and never do the daily and necessary grunt work of stocking, etc.
All the best retailers want to play the game at full force:
they hate slow sales days
they hate no challenge
It doesnt matter if they are in head office merchandising roles or on the sales floor:
The Deal: making the Deal: closing the Sale: thats what they live for.
Because its their nature. They race because they are racehorses.
Leadership as social work doesnt belong in retail. What belongs in retail is an entire team of racehorses: Nordstroms is the perfect example of hiring racehorses.
Best Buy is a great example with their policy of Results Only.......for staff.
its a policy of "we wont manage and motivate you"
You do that yourself:..........and the results will speak for you.
Get the job done: You are accountable to get the job done: whatever way you can........whatever hours you need: few or many: whenever you feel the time is right:.....you pick your own hours.
A smart policy of hiring true retailers has given Best Buy fantastic productivity results. So staggering in fact: this policy of not managing and leading: just hiring right: they want to find a way to implement it into store level as well.
Because the "leadership" message is: Do Business.
Thats all the leadership you need in retail. Do Business: make profit.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Retail Recruiting: Talent Pool vs Talent Community
Nowadays there is a dramatic difference between maintaining a talent pool database
and
a talent community for private recruiters.
Databases of uploaded resumes get old very quickly: not only that: they tell you next to nothing about candidates: their goals or where they are in their lives today.
Talent communities instead are a recruiters group of like minded professionals that you interact with on an continual basis.
You know who is happy in their jobs and you know who wants to make a move because they just got married. Things like that.
You know which firms have roles opening up soon that will require a specific type of candidate.
On any given day: you probably know the status of at least 1,000 people in your network.
And the job of the recruiter is to keep that dialogue going every single day:
touching base and updating with as many in the network as possible.
No mean feat! Recruiting today means an open door policy of helping your talent pool with everything from resumes to where to find the best movers !
Its not just about getting them hired anymore. Its about becoming part of their careers.......part of their lives.
Recruiters now function like career coaches:
-guiding them to firms that offer their best chance of fulfillment for their personal goals.
-preparing them for interviews and hand holding through the steps
The best recruiters probably dont need more than a day or two to find you at least one suitable candidate for most roles.
Recruiters know who is on the market every single day.
Thats really what you pay a recruiter for: knowledge.
Anyone can find people now: the internet doesnt make that very hard.
Knowing who is on the market for nearly every role every day: is the special skill belonging to social recruiters.
But you can be sure: that relationship has been nurtured for weeks or months and your recruiter is absolutely sure this candidate is a match for your firm!
And if you think it isnt much work spending 8 to 12 hours a day cultivating relationships:
it often feels like being the Old Woman in the Shoe: who had so many children: She didnt know what to do!
Talent communities is the future of recruiting today.
Companies that dont do it themselves or dont hire others to do it:
relying on old HR systems
will simply be left out of the loop;
especially as the Americans aggressively enter the game!
and
a talent community for private recruiters.
Databases of uploaded resumes get old very quickly: not only that: they tell you next to nothing about candidates: their goals or where they are in their lives today.
Talent communities instead are a recruiters group of like minded professionals that you interact with on an continual basis.
You know who is happy in their jobs and you know who wants to make a move because they just got married. Things like that.
You know which firms have roles opening up soon that will require a specific type of candidate.
On any given day: you probably know the status of at least 1,000 people in your network.
And the job of the recruiter is to keep that dialogue going every single day:
touching base and updating with as many in the network as possible.
No mean feat! Recruiting today means an open door policy of helping your talent pool with everything from resumes to where to find the best movers !
Its not just about getting them hired anymore. Its about becoming part of their careers.......part of their lives.
Recruiters now function like career coaches:
-guiding them to firms that offer their best chance of fulfillment for their personal goals.
-preparing them for interviews and hand holding through the steps
The best recruiters probably dont need more than a day or two to find you at least one suitable candidate for most roles.
Recruiters know who is on the market every single day.
Thats really what you pay a recruiter for: knowledge.
Anyone can find people now: the internet doesnt make that very hard.
Knowing who is on the market for nearly every role every day: is the special skill belonging to social recruiters.
But you can be sure: that relationship has been nurtured for weeks or months and your recruiter is absolutely sure this candidate is a match for your firm!
And if you think it isnt much work spending 8 to 12 hours a day cultivating relationships:
it often feels like being the Old Woman in the Shoe: who had so many children: She didnt know what to do!
Talent communities is the future of recruiting today.
Companies that dont do it themselves or dont hire others to do it:
relying on old HR systems
will simply be left out of the loop;
especially as the Americans aggressively enter the game!
Monday, April 25, 2011
War for Talent: Fact or Fiction?
We have been hearing the phrase War for Talent since 1997: when it started to become obvious that more people quit than were being hired in many organizations.
Is it true in a recession for retail?
More than ever.
Nearly 61% of all retail workers plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years.
Google the phrase: War for Talent in Google and you will get 92 million articles that mention it.
What exactly is Talent anyway: People know it when they see it: is what they usually say.
For retail thats an even airier concept pre-hire: easy to demonstrate post-hire.
Talent for retail is simply this: The ability to deliver measurable results that impact the retailers bottom line directly.
Everyone else is support staff:
In retail thats around 30% talent or direct money generating staff and 70% non finance producing staff.
Does this even make sense?
It started with stores massively reducing front line sales staff for some reason allocated to cost savings: but few trimmed equally at head office level.
Get rid of the people who generate the income?
Thats exactly what most retailers did when faced with income issues.
I worked in the past consulting with one firm that actually had more head office staff than retail front line staff: More chiefs than warriors.
They flogged these poor store staffers endlessly to produce the money to support this massive reverse pyramid: pushing them for higher and higher sales and more and more hours.
Needless to say: it was unsustainable in the long run and the firm had to drastically scale back.
The obvious answer is to increase the numbers of people that actually generate the money:
and decresase the parasitic support staff.
I sit in awe as HR offices expand and expand and expand: creeping inch by inch across Canada:
some even having City HR managers........all seemingly dedicated to support the current staffing levels instore......and find new ones to replace the outgoers.
HR office growth is vastly exceeding direct income generating staff growth.
Logic would say: there isnt a need to have more and more levels of management for the existing retail staff: there is a need for more customer level staff to drive sales.
Retail is notorious for high turnover.
Retailers are almost never found in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for lists.
Retail organizations have a reputation for being sweatshops to work in:
and having little regard or esteem for the income producers.
Retail has a reputation of being a temporary miserable career until workers find their "real" jobs.
This imbalance is contrary to the way IT and nearly all other firms work today:
IT firms realize they need more computer system designers than they do computer managers.
IT firms make money: Retail is shuffling along.
Statistics show retail is having a miserable time attracting talent: aka: people who can generate money and profits for them.
Not only is there less "talent' to draw upon:
as fewer and fewer enter the profession
But working conditions for the staff havent changed since the turn of the century:
and I mean the 1900s.......to entice newcomers.
12 hour days
working every weekend
no breaks
endless standing
poor pay: few benefits
untrained tyrannical bosses
working under surveillance cameras
daily performance measurement
use and toss out mentality of many firms
Retail is has taken over the cache of being the cotton fields of the 1800s:
the dead end pit to be avoided.
I actually overhead one senior manager responding to an urgent request to get off work for the death of a family member say: Why? He's already dead. There is nothing you can do now.
How tragic:
What is more fun than good retail?
At least it used to be.
Which brings me back to the war for talent.........the war for true retailers who simply love the game: who generate results year after year
in spite of better opportunities elsewhere: other career choices.
These true retailers are few and far between. These 30% support every single worker in the rest of the organization. And they do it out of pure passion.......and little reward.
Finding STAFF isnt hard. Finding true WARRIOR RETAILERS is like mining for diamonds............
you have to know when you have found a gem
and where to look for them.
Its a battlefield out there: and finding the talent is a skill all of its own!
Are you hiring actual talent? Are you hiring real talent to find talent?
If not: you are losing money every single day.
Is it true in a recession for retail?
More than ever.
Nearly 61% of all retail workers plan to leave the profession within the next 5 years.
Google the phrase: War for Talent in Google and you will get 92 million articles that mention it.
What exactly is Talent anyway: People know it when they see it: is what they usually say.
For retail thats an even airier concept pre-hire: easy to demonstrate post-hire.
Talent for retail is simply this: The ability to deliver measurable results that impact the retailers bottom line directly.
Everyone else is support staff:
In retail thats around 30% talent or direct money generating staff and 70% non finance producing staff.
Does this even make sense?
It started with stores massively reducing front line sales staff for some reason allocated to cost savings: but few trimmed equally at head office level.
Get rid of the people who generate the income?
Thats exactly what most retailers did when faced with income issues.
I worked in the past consulting with one firm that actually had more head office staff than retail front line staff: More chiefs than warriors.
They flogged these poor store staffers endlessly to produce the money to support this massive reverse pyramid: pushing them for higher and higher sales and more and more hours.
Needless to say: it was unsustainable in the long run and the firm had to drastically scale back.
The obvious answer is to increase the numbers of people that actually generate the money:
and decresase the parasitic support staff.
I sit in awe as HR offices expand and expand and expand: creeping inch by inch across Canada:
some even having City HR managers........all seemingly dedicated to support the current staffing levels instore......and find new ones to replace the outgoers.
HR office growth is vastly exceeding direct income generating staff growth.
Logic would say: there isnt a need to have more and more levels of management for the existing retail staff: there is a need for more customer level staff to drive sales.
Retail is notorious for high turnover.
Retailers are almost never found in the Top 100 Best Companies to Work for lists.
Retail organizations have a reputation for being sweatshops to work in:
and having little regard or esteem for the income producers.
Retail has a reputation of being a temporary miserable career until workers find their "real" jobs.
This imbalance is contrary to the way IT and nearly all other firms work today:
IT firms realize they need more computer system designers than they do computer managers.
IT firms make money: Retail is shuffling along.
Statistics show retail is having a miserable time attracting talent: aka: people who can generate money and profits for them.
Not only is there less "talent' to draw upon:
as fewer and fewer enter the profession
But working conditions for the staff havent changed since the turn of the century:
and I mean the 1900s.......to entice newcomers.
12 hour days
working every weekend
no breaks
endless standing
poor pay: few benefits
untrained tyrannical bosses
working under surveillance cameras
daily performance measurement
use and toss out mentality of many firms
Retail is has taken over the cache of being the cotton fields of the 1800s:
the dead end pit to be avoided.
I actually overhead one senior manager responding to an urgent request to get off work for the death of a family member say: Why? He's already dead. There is nothing you can do now.
How tragic:
What is more fun than good retail?
At least it used to be.
Which brings me back to the war for talent.........the war for true retailers who simply love the game: who generate results year after year
in spite of better opportunities elsewhere: other career choices.
These true retailers are few and far between. These 30% support every single worker in the rest of the organization. And they do it out of pure passion.......and little reward.
Finding STAFF isnt hard. Finding true WARRIOR RETAILERS is like mining for diamonds............
you have to know when you have found a gem
and where to look for them.
Its a battlefield out there: and finding the talent is a skill all of its own!
Are you hiring actual talent? Are you hiring real talent to find talent?
If not: you are losing money every single day.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Job Hoppers: New Age Trend? Looks like it.
The curse of a resume is that it has to reveal all your secrets:
especially past experience.
And the biggest curse of all is too many jobs in too short a time frame followed by Unemployed altogether.
But the reality today is that changing jobs on a frequent basis is STANDARD.
The number one reason people quit their jobs is no longer because they dont like their boss: although thats still up there.
The number one reason is BOREDOM.
In these days of instant click: online games: on demand TV........slogging away at the same tasks year after year has about as much appeal as using a typewriter is to type.
Our minds are now conditioned for stimulation. Jobs that dont provide much are very low down the totem pole for retention.
It speaks to the fact that a single job role itself: no matter how well paid wont hold employees.
Without total engagement in the full advancement of the firm: social connections inside the firm: social activities inside the firm..........todays workers are gone within about 2-4 years.
Corporate culture has never been more important than it is today: being part of something greater than yourself: is required for a complete employment experience.
When you see serial jobs on a resume; often times today it doesnt say anything negative about the candidate but a lot about the Corporation they worked for!
especially past experience.
And the biggest curse of all is too many jobs in too short a time frame followed by Unemployed altogether.
But the reality today is that changing jobs on a frequent basis is STANDARD.
The number one reason people quit their jobs is no longer because they dont like their boss: although thats still up there.
The number one reason is BOREDOM.
In these days of instant click: online games: on demand TV........slogging away at the same tasks year after year has about as much appeal as using a typewriter is to type.
Our minds are now conditioned for stimulation. Jobs that dont provide much are very low down the totem pole for retention.
It speaks to the fact that a single job role itself: no matter how well paid wont hold employees.
Without total engagement in the full advancement of the firm: social connections inside the firm: social activities inside the firm..........todays workers are gone within about 2-4 years.
Corporate culture has never been more important than it is today: being part of something greater than yourself: is required for a complete employment experience.
When you see serial jobs on a resume; often times today it doesnt say anything negative about the candidate but a lot about the Corporation they worked for!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
New Social Recruiting vs Old School Closed Door Recruiting
We see the best social network recruiters racking up results:
building brand image: building goodwill..........graciously speaking to everyone who choose to explore a career with their firm.
But: then we see the old school recruiters:
You know them:
You need a private access code to reach them
They will call you: you DONT ever call them.
Dinosaur recruiters will soon find they have shut their doors completely on the new age world of recruiting and damage their firms chances of best talent in the process.
Somehow they dont realize in todays world its simply insulting to be cloaked behind a veil of unreachable pinnacles of power.
Candidates of today just dont buy it........that they are "chosen" to be spoken to by the powerful recruiter/HR person: its an arrogance born of excess of earlier times.
Why on earth put yourself up on LinkedIn if you never join a group: never allow anyone to contact you unless you hold that golden key:..........its arrogant to turn LinkedIn into your own private consulting agency:....that only you can access. Free ads. Free contacts: but they give nothing back.
You can spot these onliners: they post their needs everyday: but let you know by blocking access that you arent to approach them. They are there just to use others.
And if thats not evidence: just look at their bios:
they nearly always have a good 20 years experience:
doing things the old way........and are not about to change.
Avoid these types of recruiters and HR people as much as you can:
if this is the way they treat people:
Imagine what its like working for that company!
Stuck in the 80s
building brand image: building goodwill..........graciously speaking to everyone who choose to explore a career with their firm.
But: then we see the old school recruiters:
You know them:
You need a private access code to reach them
They will call you: you DONT ever call them.
Dinosaur recruiters will soon find they have shut their doors completely on the new age world of recruiting and damage their firms chances of best talent in the process.
Somehow they dont realize in todays world its simply insulting to be cloaked behind a veil of unreachable pinnacles of power.
Candidates of today just dont buy it........that they are "chosen" to be spoken to by the powerful recruiter/HR person: its an arrogance born of excess of earlier times.
Why on earth put yourself up on LinkedIn if you never join a group: never allow anyone to contact you unless you hold that golden key:..........its arrogant to turn LinkedIn into your own private consulting agency:....that only you can access. Free ads. Free contacts: but they give nothing back.
You can spot these onliners: they post their needs everyday: but let you know by blocking access that you arent to approach them. They are there just to use others.
And if thats not evidence: just look at their bios:
they nearly always have a good 20 years experience:
doing things the old way........and are not about to change.
Avoid these types of recruiters and HR people as much as you can:
if this is the way they treat people:
Imagine what its like working for that company!
Stuck in the 80s
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Case of the Phantom HR vs Social Face of HR
The keys to the secret world of Human Resources:
the golden office where the fate of so many lies........
Who are these magical people? and why are they hiding like reclusive movie stars?
In this day of fierce competition for retail talent it simply never ceases to amaze me:
why so many HR people hide in the shadows: cloaked in strange veils of annonymity to protect their identities: especially on LInkedIN.
Hanya R: Sr HR, no company, no city: just Canada:...........and you must already have the secret email address to access the kingdom they rule over.
Dont call me: I will call you: if you are worthy. That seems to be their message. ..........designed to keep the undesireables out and away.
Really? Do they really think that pompous attitude is the correct social face for their firms in this day and age?
Afraid of staffers getting in touch? Is your firm that horrible to work for you expect to be blindsided by angry workers bombarding you with complaints?
Afraid of newcomers asking for jobs? Is it in the best interest of your firm to ensure no talent should possibly seek employment unless you tightly control the process?
This old school HR model has seen better days and certainly isnt the model that resonates with candidates today.
In fact: its just the opposite. The keys to the inner sanctum reigned over by regal ancient rulers of HR........are slowly being taken away by the new social media HR experts.
Its just one more example of why many dont seek out retail careers and those who have refuse to intersect for new placements by applying randomly online: in case they run into The Phatom HR: Its just too insulting and degrading in todays environments of equality and open networking.
Retail is short of talent. Younger people are not entering the field for permanent careers.
The median age of retailers is now 43 years old. Thats up 5 years from 2006 and the fastest growing segment of workers is in the 44 to 55 age group. Where is all the staff going to come from to drive corporate numbers when retailers are retiring faster than new ones are signing up?
The warm and engaging open door networkers who welcome all comers and create great candidate experiences are the true HR masters of the future and represent the firms who will attract the best talent. And that means dropping the cold and unwelcome shrouds of HR.
Come on HR people: join the 21st century.
the golden office where the fate of so many lies........
Who are these magical people? and why are they hiding like reclusive movie stars?
In this day of fierce competition for retail talent it simply never ceases to amaze me:
why so many HR people hide in the shadows: cloaked in strange veils of annonymity to protect their identities: especially on LInkedIN.
Hanya R: Sr HR, no company, no city: just Canada:...........and you must already have the secret email address to access the kingdom they rule over.
Dont call me: I will call you: if you are worthy. That seems to be their message. ..........designed to keep the undesireables out and away.
Really? Do they really think that pompous attitude is the correct social face for their firms in this day and age?
Afraid of staffers getting in touch? Is your firm that horrible to work for you expect to be blindsided by angry workers bombarding you with complaints?
Afraid of newcomers asking for jobs? Is it in the best interest of your firm to ensure no talent should possibly seek employment unless you tightly control the process?
This old school HR model has seen better days and certainly isnt the model that resonates with candidates today.
In fact: its just the opposite. The keys to the inner sanctum reigned over by regal ancient rulers of HR........are slowly being taken away by the new social media HR experts.
Its just one more example of why many dont seek out retail careers and those who have refuse to intersect for new placements by applying randomly online: in case they run into The Phatom HR: Its just too insulting and degrading in todays environments of equality and open networking.
Retail is short of talent. Younger people are not entering the field for permanent careers.
The median age of retailers is now 43 years old. Thats up 5 years from 2006 and the fastest growing segment of workers is in the 44 to 55 age group. Where is all the staff going to come from to drive corporate numbers when retailers are retiring faster than new ones are signing up?
The warm and engaging open door networkers who welcome all comers and create great candidate experiences are the true HR masters of the future and represent the firms who will attract the best talent. And that means dropping the cold and unwelcome shrouds of HR.
Come on HR people: join the 21st century.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Retail and the Teamwork Concept: Is it really Valid?
Nearly every retail job posting nowadays has some element of Team Coach, Team Leader, Team Player
as a requirement.
Nearly every resume I see has Exceptional Team Leader on it as well.
And if you work in one of the retail concepts where individual sales arent calculated: its probably a valuable concept.
But what if you dont?
What if you work in the crushing world of jewellery sales, fashion sales, furniture sales.
Teamwork be &*(&: !!!!!
The team doesnt get fired if you are the lowest sales person: YOU DO.
For the most part:
Retail isnt designed to be a team sport:
where 30% of the top players carry the other 70% of the organization
and everyone shares in the rewards.
Retail is a Kentucky Derby Triple Crown horse race:
prizes only go the first, second and third place.
The doors open: and the the game is on!
Best man wins.......best salesperson wins.
Top salespeople get promoted.
Top salespeople are rewarded.
Teamwork my foot!
Why do retail job postings ask for Teamwork skills?: when in truth:
only the warriors will survive long enough to ever have a "team" of their own.
Nearly every corporate retail organization in Canada is built like a sports team:
30% of the people generating the money
70% are support staff
Retailing never used to be this way: every man carried his own wage and delivered a financial contribution to the firm.......every man could justify his costs.
There were no "teams" on salesfloors: no gently supportive and loving coworkers.
There were Sales Warriors:
people who just loved the race:
who played the game for the sake of hearing the cash register ring!
Today those warrior sales types are few and far between:
instead we have nice staff
We find such "nice" staff lingering at the registers: or in change rooms:
not much bothered the customer has arrived........but always ready with a "Can I help you?" if you wait long enough: or not.
Whatever happened to NOT hiring for Team skills and hiring instead for individual Retail Sales Skills?
That inner drive to sell just one more thing! because they simply love to do it?
With our American friends heading north:
Canadian firms wont be able to afford retail structures of 30/70 sales to administrators.
We will have to reshape along old terms: 70 selling and 30 administrators instead.
And oh by the way: Hire people who actually WANT to sell because they love to do it!
as a requirement.
Nearly every resume I see has Exceptional Team Leader on it as well.
And if you work in one of the retail concepts where individual sales arent calculated: its probably a valuable concept.
But what if you dont?
What if you work in the crushing world of jewellery sales, fashion sales, furniture sales.
Teamwork be &*(&: !!!!!
The team doesnt get fired if you are the lowest sales person: YOU DO.
For the most part:
Retail isnt designed to be a team sport:
where 30% of the top players carry the other 70% of the organization
and everyone shares in the rewards.
Retail is a Kentucky Derby Triple Crown horse race:
prizes only go the first, second and third place.
The doors open: and the the game is on!
Best man wins.......best salesperson wins.
Top salespeople get promoted.
Top salespeople are rewarded.
Teamwork my foot!
Why do retail job postings ask for Teamwork skills?: when in truth:
only the warriors will survive long enough to ever have a "team" of their own.
Nearly every corporate retail organization in Canada is built like a sports team:
30% of the people generating the money
70% are support staff
Retailing never used to be this way: every man carried his own wage and delivered a financial contribution to the firm.......every man could justify his costs.
There were no "teams" on salesfloors: no gently supportive and loving coworkers.
There were Sales Warriors:
people who just loved the race:
who played the game for the sake of hearing the cash register ring!
Today those warrior sales types are few and far between:
instead we have nice staff
We find such "nice" staff lingering at the registers: or in change rooms:
not much bothered the customer has arrived........but always ready with a "Can I help you?" if you wait long enough: or not.
Whatever happened to NOT hiring for Team skills and hiring instead for individual Retail Sales Skills?
That inner drive to sell just one more thing! because they simply love to do it?
With our American friends heading north:
Canadian firms wont be able to afford retail structures of 30/70 sales to administrators.
We will have to reshape along old terms: 70 selling and 30 administrators instead.
And oh by the way: Hire people who actually WANT to sell because they love to do it!
Most Candidate Friendly Corporate Job Sites: #1 Best Buy Cda
Anyone who has recently applied for a job online knows the misery of first trying to register: figure out how to use them: how to upload and on and on.
Lonely and frustraing. Some of these sites sponsored by majore drivers like Taleo: you click and click and they keep refusing to accept your data: telling you item # 32 wasnt filled in: but you know you did.
I dont know how many candidates just pack it in..........and remember NOT to revisit that company to apply. The pain of using their applicant systems is just too great.
The return on investment of your time is just too low:
You know the odds of receiving an interview seems almost as bad as buying a winning lottery ticket.
And thats only if you figured out what the heck the job was to begin with:
Most posted jobs these days read like Performance Contracts
or applications to universities.......
Long paragraphs on
The Right Stuff: about the SuperMan/Woman you need to be to do this job.........
Long paragraphs on:
What YOU have to give.........and nearly nothing on what you will get in return.
Long paragraphs full of legal type English no one understands.
Hey: I am a great store manager: what is a Unified Business Directions Account Manager anyway?
And those prequalifying psychological tests: are you kidding me? You want ME to rule MYSELF out?
and how do I end up feeling if you dont call me?
that there is something wrong with me that is so great your firm will NEVER call me?
Hey:Mr HR just want to explore career opportunities with you.........not sign on for the Secret Service or marry your daughter!
Enough! Hell no: we just wont do it anymore!
Thats the message todays candidates are sending and they are fighting back.
Make my candidate experience a good one: or I will pass up your firm: FOREVER.
But then there is the Best Buy Canada career website: and Chad Steham:
Its the friendliest easiest to use career site in Canada........
Not only is it easy to use: it provides lots of helpful feedback features:
Like when can I expect to hear something?
They have managed to create a site that makes the candidate feel nearly human?
Chad regularily gets online and posts in a way that makes him approachable:
that makes you think: this would be a great place to work.
That you wont get hacked to death in the candidate process.
Hes light: hes funny: he encourages all comers: take a look at us!
Chad is a leader in the direction big retail needs to go in order to attract best talent to Retail.
Be sure to follow Chad on LInkedIn.
Lonely and frustraing. Some of these sites sponsored by majore drivers like Taleo: you click and click and they keep refusing to accept your data: telling you item # 32 wasnt filled in: but you know you did.
I dont know how many candidates just pack it in..........and remember NOT to revisit that company to apply. The pain of using their applicant systems is just too great.
The return on investment of your time is just too low:
You know the odds of receiving an interview seems almost as bad as buying a winning lottery ticket.
And thats only if you figured out what the heck the job was to begin with:
Most posted jobs these days read like Performance Contracts
or applications to universities.......
Long paragraphs on
The Right Stuff: about the SuperMan/Woman you need to be to do this job.........
Long paragraphs on:
What YOU have to give.........and nearly nothing on what you will get in return.
Long paragraphs full of legal type English no one understands.
Hey: I am a great store manager: what is a Unified Business Directions Account Manager anyway?
And those prequalifying psychological tests: are you kidding me? You want ME to rule MYSELF out?
and how do I end up feeling if you dont call me?
that there is something wrong with me that is so great your firm will NEVER call me?
Hey:Mr HR just want to explore career opportunities with you.........not sign on for the Secret Service or marry your daughter!
Enough! Hell no: we just wont do it anymore!
Thats the message todays candidates are sending and they are fighting back.
Make my candidate experience a good one: or I will pass up your firm: FOREVER.
But then there is the Best Buy Canada career website: and Chad Steham:
Its the friendliest easiest to use career site in Canada........
Not only is it easy to use: it provides lots of helpful feedback features:
Like when can I expect to hear something?
They have managed to create a site that makes the candidate feel nearly human?
Chad regularily gets online and posts in a way that makes him approachable:
that makes you think: this would be a great place to work.
That you wont get hacked to death in the candidate process.
Hes light: hes funny: he encourages all comers: take a look at us!
Chad is a leader in the direction big retail needs to go in order to attract best talent to Retail.
Be sure to follow Chad on LInkedIn.
Great Candidate Experiences: Who does it Best? #1
Many of you will see me tease Amy Hamdorff: Sourcing Specialist for Western Canada for Starbucks:
as she works tirelessly to promote her brand and attract best talent to gravitate towards her.
I am constantly accusing her of stealing all the best talent!
Amy is actually probably one of the best examples of online social recruiting in all of Canada. She knows and understands that recruiting isnt just about asking people to apply to her firm with open job postings:
its about selling the brand Starbucks to her generation.
The candidate exprience starts with each interaction with the company:
it starts as a customer.
The opinion customers have of the firm creates a mental relationship with prospective employees of the future. It sets the tone of great expectations as a consumer and as an employee.
One thing I can say about the Starbucks experience for employees: I have yet to hear a single complaint other than: I want to move up faster in the company!
Why? Because their entire candidate to employee experience is engaging: it wins the hearts of its people. They are proud to work for the firm and feel valued from first contact.
When I receive orders to fill roles I often hear the words: Bring me someone with a Starbucks background. Now thats quite an endorsement!
So Amy and I have a bit of competition going on here. She is able to attrack top talent simply by spreading such a great brand message: she invites all of Canada to participate in everything from coffee tasting to tree planting and by default attract applicants.
She is continually posting updates of Starbucks activities: that not just candidates can participate in. she is a true brand messenger! Who wouldnt want to work for this firm with people like Amy as the social face of the firm? No wonder they consistently come in at the top as one of the best places to work!
Amy is hands down the best social media recruiter I have seen in Canada and old school recruiters need to take special notice of her amazing skills!
The day of the flat boring online job application are dead. Just ask Amy!
as she works tirelessly to promote her brand and attract best talent to gravitate towards her.
I am constantly accusing her of stealing all the best talent!
Amy is actually probably one of the best examples of online social recruiting in all of Canada. She knows and understands that recruiting isnt just about asking people to apply to her firm with open job postings:
its about selling the brand Starbucks to her generation.
The candidate exprience starts with each interaction with the company:
it starts as a customer.
The opinion customers have of the firm creates a mental relationship with prospective employees of the future. It sets the tone of great expectations as a consumer and as an employee.
One thing I can say about the Starbucks experience for employees: I have yet to hear a single complaint other than: I want to move up faster in the company!
Why? Because their entire candidate to employee experience is engaging: it wins the hearts of its people. They are proud to work for the firm and feel valued from first contact.
When I receive orders to fill roles I often hear the words: Bring me someone with a Starbucks background. Now thats quite an endorsement!
So Amy and I have a bit of competition going on here. She is able to attrack top talent simply by spreading such a great brand message: she invites all of Canada to participate in everything from coffee tasting to tree planting and by default attract applicants.
She is continually posting updates of Starbucks activities: that not just candidates can participate in. she is a true brand messenger! Who wouldnt want to work for this firm with people like Amy as the social face of the firm? No wonder they consistently come in at the top as one of the best places to work!
Amy is hands down the best social media recruiter I have seen in Canada and old school recruiters need to take special notice of her amazing skills!
The day of the flat boring online job application are dead. Just ask Amy!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Blackberry World & Retail Workspace: New Realities
So all the staff shows up with their mobile devices in their pockets........some right on their desks.
They check them with every buzz and beep.
Store managers are going crazy: writing up rules to bann them: penalizing their useage: stash them in lockers during work hours.
Cell technology is considered the biggest threat to retail productivity managers have ever faced!
Staff cant be fully engaged at the task at hand! Customers are being ignored!
Really?
Not. ..........mostly not.
77% of all retail workers under the age of 40 social network every single day.......
Managers can no more drive out this technology than buggy makers could stop the onslaught of cars a hundred years ago.
Bann them?
well: managers can drive it underground:
staffers sent for coffee: will check in and take 5 minutes longer to return.
staffers putting out the darn garbage will take that chance to check in.
Lock them up?
well: that generates a lot of resentment and creates a perception of a control freak manager and company
Its really very simple: Embrace the technology.
Use it to your advantage.
Offer up cell phone breaks instead of coffee breaks:
Get the staffers to broadcast that you have 50% off right now.
Ask staffers to broadcast: we are hiring!
Give customers business cards with emails to direct staffers listed on them
Ask staffers to compete store to store with each other for sales: via cell phone for updates!
Yes: ASK them to use the technology: to advance your brand! Imagine all these mini salespeople broadcasting your personal message once an hour to thousands of consumers who WILL hear the message: not MIGHT here the message:
because its endorsed by their friend!
You can fight the losing battle of banning personal cell devices while working or you can turn it into the greatest public relations marketing in history: as well as an attractor for hiring new age workers!
They check them with every buzz and beep.
Store managers are going crazy: writing up rules to bann them: penalizing their useage: stash them in lockers during work hours.
Cell technology is considered the biggest threat to retail productivity managers have ever faced!
Staff cant be fully engaged at the task at hand! Customers are being ignored!
Really?
Not. ..........mostly not.
77% of all retail workers under the age of 40 social network every single day.......
Managers can no more drive out this technology than buggy makers could stop the onslaught of cars a hundred years ago.
Bann them?
well: managers can drive it underground:
staffers sent for coffee: will check in and take 5 minutes longer to return.
staffers putting out the darn garbage will take that chance to check in.
Lock them up?
well: that generates a lot of resentment and creates a perception of a control freak manager and company
Its really very simple: Embrace the technology.
Use it to your advantage.
Offer up cell phone breaks instead of coffee breaks:
Get the staffers to broadcast that you have 50% off right now.
Ask staffers to broadcast: we are hiring!
Give customers business cards with emails to direct staffers listed on them
Ask staffers to compete store to store with each other for sales: via cell phone for updates!
Yes: ASK them to use the technology: to advance your brand! Imagine all these mini salespeople broadcasting your personal message once an hour to thousands of consumers who WILL hear the message: not MIGHT here the message:
because its endorsed by their friend!
You can fight the losing battle of banning personal cell devices while working or you can turn it into the greatest public relations marketing in history: as well as an attractor for hiring new age workers!
New Trend in Retail Recruiting: the Age of the Personal Agent
The days of qualified candidates sitting at home filling out endless online application forms: or faxing resumes is long gone......especially as retail talent numbers are getting fewer and fewer.
The trend now is for jobseekers to link up to a personal recruiter as an agent to represent them.
Recruiters of course are paid by the hiring firms: so its a no risk situation for a candidate.
Recruiter as Talent Agent:
matching clients to candidates.
Now the screening takes place on both sides of the equation:
Candidates are screening employers for best fit
just as much as Employers screen candidates.
The facts support this reversal of power.
Of the 500,000 online hits last month for Jobs in Canada
there were only 28.000 hits for Retail Jobs in Canada
of which
18,000 were Part Time Retail Jobs in Canada
For an industry that is number one or two as largest employers in Canada
thats a pretty thin pool of job seekers:
no more than 5% of all searches.
One major job board had nearly 900 retail postings on one search........
for balance: the same job board had only 36 jobs for architectural jobs.
Firms that simply post a job and wait for candidates to come through the door
are at a distinct disadvantage in their access to talent.
Dont assume candidates are aggressively searching firm after firm for openings.
Dont assume they will find your opening!
Dont assume they have a clue you are hiring!
Dont assume they would ever consider working for you without an agent selling the benefits of your firm!
Dont assume your own corporate recruiter will know who is on the market!
Jobseekers are fed up with the impersonal online applications that never receive much more than canned replies.
Jobseekers know that corporate recruiters are only going to sell the benefits of their particular firm:
they arent working for the candidate and presenting a broad range of opportunties.
Recruiters are often sitting on data bases in the hundreds or thousands of confidential resumes as a result.
Retail recruiting: personal relationship management for candidates: is going to be the driving force in hiring within the next 5 years.
Roles will change so that recruiters will do less seeking out hirers for role to fill:
Hirers will be seeking out recruiters to access their candidate pool instead!
The recruiters with the best talent pool and candidate management experience will lead the industry.
The trend now is for jobseekers to link up to a personal recruiter as an agent to represent them.
Recruiters of course are paid by the hiring firms: so its a no risk situation for a candidate.
Recruiter as Talent Agent:
matching clients to candidates.
Now the screening takes place on both sides of the equation:
Candidates are screening employers for best fit
just as much as Employers screen candidates.
The facts support this reversal of power.
Of the 500,000 online hits last month for Jobs in Canada
there were only 28.000 hits for Retail Jobs in Canada
of which
18,000 were Part Time Retail Jobs in Canada
For an industry that is number one or two as largest employers in Canada
thats a pretty thin pool of job seekers:
no more than 5% of all searches.
One major job board had nearly 900 retail postings on one search........
for balance: the same job board had only 36 jobs for architectural jobs.
Firms that simply post a job and wait for candidates to come through the door
are at a distinct disadvantage in their access to talent.
Dont assume candidates are aggressively searching firm after firm for openings.
Dont assume they will find your opening!
Dont assume they have a clue you are hiring!
Dont assume they would ever consider working for you without an agent selling the benefits of your firm!
Dont assume your own corporate recruiter will know who is on the market!
Jobseekers are fed up with the impersonal online applications that never receive much more than canned replies.
Jobseekers know that corporate recruiters are only going to sell the benefits of their particular firm:
they arent working for the candidate and presenting a broad range of opportunties.
Recruiters are often sitting on data bases in the hundreds or thousands of confidential resumes as a result.
Retail recruiting: personal relationship management for candidates: is going to be the driving force in hiring within the next 5 years.
Roles will change so that recruiters will do less seeking out hirers for role to fill:
Hirers will be seeking out recruiters to access their candidate pool instead!
The recruiters with the best talent pool and candidate management experience will lead the industry.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Hiring the Overqualifed
The recession of the past few years put a lot of retail talent on the market who want back in.
Business is picking up: managers are starting to hire again: but are now faced with a seniority level of applications they have never seen before.
Traditionally; skill levels are determined for any given role.
Candidates who exceed these skill levels are screened out.
Wait a minute! Why is this?
The long held perception is that overqualfied candidates wont last: they wont be motivated: they will be bored....they are too expensive, etc.
According to the Harvard Business Review March 2011: its just not true.
Studies show in the sales professions in particular: seemingly senior or overqualified candidates actually outperform those deemd best fit to hire.
The narrow focus of hiring just to fill one current role is ineffective to long term goals.
Sooner or later all firms need greater levels of talent.
Unless your firm isnt growing anymore:
picking up talent as you have the chance to do so is a tremendous asset builder for your firm!
Dont simply disqualify senior level candidates:
they know they are applying under their skill set:
Maybe they see something in your firms future that inspires them!
Business is picking up: managers are starting to hire again: but are now faced with a seniority level of applications they have never seen before.
Traditionally; skill levels are determined for any given role.
Candidates who exceed these skill levels are screened out.
Wait a minute! Why is this?
The long held perception is that overqualfied candidates wont last: they wont be motivated: they will be bored....they are too expensive, etc.
According to the Harvard Business Review March 2011: its just not true.
Studies show in the sales professions in particular: seemingly senior or overqualified candidates actually outperform those deemd best fit to hire.
The narrow focus of hiring just to fill one current role is ineffective to long term goals.
Sooner or later all firms need greater levels of talent.
Unless your firm isnt growing anymore:
picking up talent as you have the chance to do so is a tremendous asset builder for your firm!
Dont simply disqualify senior level candidates:
they know they are applying under their skill set:
Maybe they see something in your firms future that inspires them!
The Best Retail Talent Goes to the Best Candidate Experience
I shake my head everyday.There never seems to be an end to candidates misery in their hiring experiences.
Every day I hear about rude and aggressive first contact interviewers: promises of further contact that never come: candidates left dangling in the wind wondering if they were not a "fit" or the job was filled.
Those who are unemployed simply have to endure these things and march forward with more applications. Those who are simply considering a switch give up.
The list includes the frustration of having to navigate and apply through confusing corporate application systems: registering and re-registering dozens of times a day at different sites that take 20 minutes each to complete.........none of which is designed to serve the applicant: only to make life easier for the recruiter.
The annoyance of auto messages saying: Due to the Large Number of Candidates: you will only be contacted IF we determine you are qualified for our needs.
Interpreted as: We dont care if you spent all that time researching our firm: this posting and filling out our forms. You probably dont cut it and you probably wont hear anything back from us........and by the way: if you do hear something in response: consider yourself lucky. Your time: your application: is probably insignificant to us.
Then there are the job postings themselves: nearly unintelligible..........filled with jargon and expectations, etc..........with vague references to Core Deliverables and Accountabilities and Personalities like Servant Coach.......and nothing about
What Duties we want you to Perform!
Paragraphs and paragraphs of What We Want from You.............in bizarre "corporate speak" terms.
Followed by a measly one line posting at the end with
What We Will Give You in Return:
some kind of vague rewarding enriching adventure and
Compensation: based upon experience.
The Reward line is: negligible.
We expect miracles from you. We will give you back: maybe something.
In fact: many of my candidates have decided they will absolutely no longer fill out corporate online forms and pre-qualify themselves with personality tests, questions of core skills, etc.
They will apply only to jobs where there is a direct person to contact: or will only use a recruiter.
A day as a candidate is a day of confusion, insults and neglect.
Whats the cost of corporations behaving badly?
Just yesterday I spoke to a C Level candidate: the type everyone wants to hire:
who spoke of their front line experience with a corporate first reviewer:
of how the questions seemed to be designed to trip them up
how the tone was aggressive and sharp
how nothing more was ever heard in return: no thank you for your time.
Nothing.
The only thing this top level executive remembered is:
I dont like that company!
I wasnt treated well.
And who are they telling? People like me: Their associates: Their friends.
In short: that 20 minute interview served to destroy XX numbers of marketing dollars the firm spends to build thier brand. Gone.
People like me dont want to refer our candidates to mean companies.
Friends and associates remember: dont apply to that firm.
If your sales associates treated your customers in the same lousy format:
you would get rid of them.
Is it acceptable for the first contact at your head office to represent your brand that way too?
Candidates are your customers. They have often decided to apply because they identify with your products and messages.
Surveys reveal horrificly bad corporate behaviour.
Only 27% of most companies will even bother to thank you for applying and advising that you were not selected! Imagine if only 27% of your friends ever thanked you for a gift or returned your calls!
With Stats Canada reporting that around 61% of all retail workers in Canada plan to leave the industry in the next 5 years: there is no surplus of retail workers: there is in fact a shortage. More on that topic in another blog.
Bottom line is:
The Hiring Experience is as much a part of your Corporate Sales Process as Instore Sales Experiences are.
The best talent gravitates to the best candidate experience: and nowadays: that often starts with a personal relationship with a private recruiter. Fewer and fewer candidates are willing to endure the misery of most corporate recruiting experiences.
Thats good news for me as more and more top talents seek me out to represent them.
The tides are turning. The game is changing so that Retail Canada has to go out and access the candidate: as opposed to the candidate begging at their doorsteps.
What they will find: is that more and more candidates have agents; private recruiters who represent clients: that serve as a gateway to access their skills. Candidates now filter who reaches them instead.
Retailers need to learn to give as much love to their applicants as they do their customers. They are one and the same!
Every day I hear about rude and aggressive first contact interviewers: promises of further contact that never come: candidates left dangling in the wind wondering if they were not a "fit" or the job was filled.
Those who are unemployed simply have to endure these things and march forward with more applications. Those who are simply considering a switch give up.
The list includes the frustration of having to navigate and apply through confusing corporate application systems: registering and re-registering dozens of times a day at different sites that take 20 minutes each to complete.........none of which is designed to serve the applicant: only to make life easier for the recruiter.
The annoyance of auto messages saying: Due to the Large Number of Candidates: you will only be contacted IF we determine you are qualified for our needs.
Interpreted as: We dont care if you spent all that time researching our firm: this posting and filling out our forms. You probably dont cut it and you probably wont hear anything back from us........and by the way: if you do hear something in response: consider yourself lucky. Your time: your application: is probably insignificant to us.
Then there are the job postings themselves: nearly unintelligible..........filled with jargon and expectations, etc..........with vague references to Core Deliverables and Accountabilities and Personalities like Servant Coach.......and nothing about
What Duties we want you to Perform!
Paragraphs and paragraphs of What We Want from You.............in bizarre "corporate speak" terms.
Followed by a measly one line posting at the end with
What We Will Give You in Return:
some kind of vague rewarding enriching adventure and
Compensation: based upon experience.
The Reward line is: negligible.
We expect miracles from you. We will give you back: maybe something.
In fact: many of my candidates have decided they will absolutely no longer fill out corporate online forms and pre-qualify themselves with personality tests, questions of core skills, etc.
They will apply only to jobs where there is a direct person to contact: or will only use a recruiter.
A day as a candidate is a day of confusion, insults and neglect.
Whats the cost of corporations behaving badly?
Just yesterday I spoke to a C Level candidate: the type everyone wants to hire:
who spoke of their front line experience with a corporate first reviewer:
of how the questions seemed to be designed to trip them up
how the tone was aggressive and sharp
how nothing more was ever heard in return: no thank you for your time.
Nothing.
The only thing this top level executive remembered is:
I dont like that company!
I wasnt treated well.
And who are they telling? People like me: Their associates: Their friends.
In short: that 20 minute interview served to destroy XX numbers of marketing dollars the firm spends to build thier brand. Gone.
People like me dont want to refer our candidates to mean companies.
Friends and associates remember: dont apply to that firm.
If your sales associates treated your customers in the same lousy format:
you would get rid of them.
Is it acceptable for the first contact at your head office to represent your brand that way too?
Candidates are your customers. They have often decided to apply because they identify with your products and messages.
Surveys reveal horrificly bad corporate behaviour.
Only 27% of most companies will even bother to thank you for applying and advising that you were not selected! Imagine if only 27% of your friends ever thanked you for a gift or returned your calls!
With Stats Canada reporting that around 61% of all retail workers in Canada plan to leave the industry in the next 5 years: there is no surplus of retail workers: there is in fact a shortage. More on that topic in another blog.
Bottom line is:
The Hiring Experience is as much a part of your Corporate Sales Process as Instore Sales Experiences are.
The best talent gravitates to the best candidate experience: and nowadays: that often starts with a personal relationship with a private recruiter. Fewer and fewer candidates are willing to endure the misery of most corporate recruiting experiences.
Thats good news for me as more and more top talents seek me out to represent them.
The tides are turning. The game is changing so that Retail Canada has to go out and access the candidate: as opposed to the candidate begging at their doorsteps.
What they will find: is that more and more candidates have agents; private recruiters who represent clients: that serve as a gateway to access their skills. Candidates now filter who reaches them instead.
Retailers need to learn to give as much love to their applicants as they do their customers. They are one and the same!
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