But should employers go as far as restricting what employees can and cannot eat? One employer thinks so. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has decided that they will go vegan — and this decision includes everyone. Whether or not you choose to practice in your home, only vegan food may be eaten in the office.

I think most of us can agree that’s taking it too far. Those who are vegan, or know a vegan, know how much of a lifestyle change that is. To force it upon someone — even if just in the workplace — seems harsh, and it could predictably lead to losing employees and missing out on great candidates.

Want to promote employee wellness without turning away employees? Here are a few less severe options:

1) Offer a Subsidized Gym Membership

A lot of gyms offer corporate discounts — take advantage of that. Employees who would not go to the gym regularly may start adding it into their schedule, and employees who are gym goers will be ecstatic! If you’re really ambitious, go the extra mile and build a gym in your office.

2) Host Onsite Fitness Classes

This can double as an employee bonding and employee wellness initiative. Hire instructors (or you may even have some on your team) to come in and teach an hour of yoga or zumba before or after the workday. Another option could be organizing a running or biking club that meets after work once or twice a week.

3) Encourage Employees to Get Outside

Walking to get coffee or lunch can do wonders. Encourage your employees to get away from their desks for 30 – 60 minutes a day.

4) Have a Nutritionist Onsite

This may just be for the bigger companies. Hiring a nutritionist as a resource for employees will prompt them to be more conscious about what they are eating and how they are taking care of themselves. If you can’t hire a nutritionist, try to keep healthy snacks in the office. If you are going to provide the company lunch, make sure you offer a healthy option. If you are bringing donuts and coffee to a morning meeting, bring fruit salad as well.

There are many ways an employer can promote employee wellness without dictating how they live their lives. Get creative and have fun as a team!

What other ideas would you add to this list?

One of the biggest complaints about Millennials in the workforce is that they are “job hoppy” and leave their first job very quickly to move on to bigger and better things.

I’m here to tell you, it’s not entirely their fault. In fact, you may be to blame.

A recent Accenture study found that recent grads — and Millennials in general — actually plan to stay in their first position for a long time, with 22% responding they expect to stay 10+ years, 21% responding five years, and 18% and 17% responding with two and three years, respectively.

The problem that Accenture found was that, while the young employees want to have longevity in their careers, their employers are expecting too much out of an entry level hire and are not providing any training or opportunity to learn new skills.

Yes, you need employees who can do the job — and yes, that is what you hired them for —  but new grads are new to the workforce and will most likely need training to be able to accomplish what is expected of them. They also will need certain things from you in order to stick around and provide your company with the return on investment that you are looking for from employees. After all, no company wants to be the town’s “best training facility” for other companies to pull from.

3 Tips to Boost Your Millennial Employee Retention Rate

1) Train Them!

Train them on systems, train them on day-to-day responsibilities, there is no such thing as too much training (even if the employee may think there is).

My first job stuck me in a conference room for a full week before letting me into the meat of the job; and that was for recruiting. Seasoned professionals will not (well, should not) need much training, but recent grads do!

2) Be Clear with Expectations

Especially at first, make everything as clear as possible until they get into the swing of things —deadlines, desired outcomes, everything. Clarity will lead to a job well done, while ambiguity will lead to a lot of questions.

Millennials aren’t stupid, but they also haven’t been working with you for years to know how you like things. Provide them clarity and watch them amaze you.

3) Nurture Growth Potential

Employees new and old all want growth potential, but Millennials and younger employees especially are looking to build a career. They don’t want to be in an entry level position forever — if they think they will be, they will leave. Provide them with growth potential and more responsibilities, opportunity for additional trainings, etc. They will stick around.

This was proven by the story of Hill Holiday’s new CEO, who started there in 1982 as a receptionist. She was provided room for growth and now she is running the company.

Bottom Line: Millennials Want to Succeed with You — Empower Them and They Will

Millennials want to stick around. No one likes the stress of finding a new job. They want to be with a company that will foster their growth and value their contribution. They also want to be with a company that will provide them with the tools to succeed. Do this and you will have employees that stick around and provide a huge return on your investment.

Do you have any recent challenges/successes managing Millennials? I would love to hear about them!

While in turns out I was correct, I did learn that more companies actually gravitate towards other outlets often than I thought. Also, it’s important to remember that LinkedIn has the smallest user-base with Facebook at 1.06 billion, Twitter at 500 million, and LinkedIn at a measly 200 million (others include Instagram at 90 million, Pinterest, at 10 million and Google+ at 100 million).

But it’s who those users are and what they’re using the platform for that makes the difference.

View the full infographic here.

Why LinkedIn is the Best Platform for Social Recruitment

#1 LinkedIn

As far as social recruitment goes, LinkedIn is the front-runner and for good reasons:

1. The site was created for professionals to network, which has easily transitioned into a hub for networking and looking for your next career.
2. LinkedIn is a favorite among recruiters and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Recruit Loop (the company behind the infographic) found that 93% of recruiters use LinkedIn to discover talent and 89% have made a hire from LinkedIn.

#2 Facebook

Coming in second is Facebook, with 66% of recruiters using it for sourcing, and 26% having actually utilizing it to make hires. I understand why Facebook is a decent recruiting option for some — you do have a profile to work with and companies are in fact using Facebook more and more to get their name out there. But it is still very much a personal rather than professional social site, and a lot of people don’t want prospective employers looking at their Facebook pages at all.

#3 Twitter

Third is Twitter with 54% using it to find candidates and only 15% having made hires via it (kind of hard to condense an offer to 140 characters, right?). The constrictions and forced brevity of the platform means you’re not going to get a lot of information as a recruiter or a candidate.

For that reason, Twitter is probably best for marketing job openings and convincing candidates to apply, or marketing your company so that prospective candidates know who you are and what you do.

Instagram and Pinterest

Now, what I thought was really interesting was Instagram and Pinterest – how do company’s use those social media outlets for hiring? My first thought was “maybe they take pictures of job descriptions.” But that doesn’t make sense. So I looked a little deeper.

Starbucks’s Instagram isn’t very active — they post about once every 1 to 2 weeks — but they have over 1.2 million followers. The posts range from congratulating new partners or awards to pictures of coffee tasting. Every once in a while they will post a picture of a new store or a construction site with comments like, “140 new opportunities #tobeapartner coming to our #Augusta Georgia Soluble Plant. Visit ‘Roasting Plant Careers’ on starbucks.com/careers to learn more. #manufacturing #engineering”.

Net-A-Porter’s career page on Pinterest has 60 pins that include the career page on their website and articles about what it is like to work there, recognition they have received, and growth they have experienced.

Okay, I get it, but I would be curious to know how effective this is. These sites are pure social sites — people browse them to get away from work, not to look for new work. I can see them catching some people’s attention to get them interested, so it can’t hurt, but I’m not sure it will ever become as useful for hiring as LinkedIn or Facebook.

We all know social media is taking over the business world – especially in hiring and marketing. If you aren’t using any outlets in your recruiting efforts you should start now!

What platform do you think is the best for social recruitment? Who are the best companies using their social profiles to recruit?

Bill Gates kept his left hand in his pocket while he shook the South Korean President’s hand with his right. In the U.S., no one would have noticed, let alone found the gesture offensive. In South Korea however, this action is considered a faux pas.

Now, let’s assume that this trip to South Korea was planned ahead of time. Let’s also assume that Gates was well aware he would be meeting with very important people on this trip (the South Korean President, for instance). This mistake could have been easily avoided if research was done prior to the trip and Gates knew basic etiquette and customs in South Korea.

I know that there is a very slim chance that you will be traveling to South Korea to meet the president any time soon, so you are probably asking yourself, why is this story relevant to me? How is this story related to hiring?

Simple — it’s all about first impressions. Whether in an interview, on a sales call, or networking, it can absolutely make or break you. And in order to make a good first impression you need to know your audience.

How to Make a Great First Impression: A Little Background Research Goes a Long Way

Not every situation is about cross cultural (mis)understanding — another example of flubbing the chance to make a great first impression could be as simple as a Harvard alum going into an interview and trash talking MIT only to discover the hiring manager went to MIT. Or it could involve missing an opportunity to connect, like meeting with the CEO of a company that you are trying to break into and not knowing that you’re from the same town, went to the same high school, and both had that same evil calculus teacher.

Before any first meeting, it is a best practice to do some research and find out a little about the person you are meeting with. Make sure you are careful not to do or say anything that would offend them and, if possible, try to find something in common that you both can relate to and use to become more comfortable with each other.

A good first impression will open many doors for you. Whether it be right away or 10 years down the road, that person will remember you. However, a bad first impression can can unfortunately last just as long — not only sinking your chances in a meeting, but damaging your reputation, as well.

Has someone made a great first impression on you lately? What were his or her secrets?

Here are thee tips to ensure that your internship program is not only valuable to the student, but valuable to the company and to your team as well.

3 Tips to Improve Your Internship Program and Boost Its Impact

1) Give Interns Meaningful Work

Do your company and your interns a favor and assign them real work that will allow them to use the skills they have, acquire new skills, and work on something that will have a real impact. In doing this, your team becomes more productive and your intern(s) get valuable experience.

You can assign interns backlogged projects or add them to a current project that may need an extra set of eyes — just make sure that you clearly explain how the project will make an impact to the company, the client, or the team.

2) Schedule Check-in Meetings

As soon as the intern starts, get a check-in meeting on the calendar and stick to it. This could be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly — whatever works for you.

Use this time to discuss the intern’s progress, anything he or she could work on, and tasks he or she does really well. Also, be sure to allow the intern to bring any issues or impediments to the table. This should be an open feedback discussion to foster improvement on both sides.

3) Conduct Formal Evaluations at the End of the Internship

Create evaluation forms for both the intern and the company. At the end of the internship, the mentor should evaluate the intern’s improvements and success throughout their time with the company. Additionally, the intern should evaluate the company, the team, and the work he or she was given.

In an exit interview, review these evaluations and discuss any questions and/or concerns on either side. Both parties can use these evaluations to refine best practices and improve.

Bottom Line: Interns Are a Terrific Resource — Make Sure You Fully Appreciate and Get the Most Out of Their Value

By treating interns like real employees and implementing a strong feedback loop, they will get the experience they are looking for and your company will get extra employees for a few months. It’s a win/win situation!

What tips would you add to this list that have helped you improve your internship program?

Once you have decided that your team would benefit from hiring an intern or two (or many), you need to actually hire that intern, and hiring interns can be very different from hiring a full time employee.

One of the first things you should do when developing an internship program is build relationships with colleges and universities. The best way to hire interns is to work directly with universities since students are most likely to use their school’s resources when looking for an internship opportunity.

The most efficient way to build relationships with colleges and universities in your area is to go through their career services department, look through the resources they provide within the college or university, and contact the team to speak with a representative. For most schools, the best way to find the page is:

• Go to the main website (generally university.edu).
• In the search field, type in “career services”.
• On the career services site, look for an option for “employers”.
• This page will show you what the school is already doing to help match employers with current and graduating students for internships and full-time positions.
• If the school has a job portal, sign up for it. This will allow you to post positions and receive updates on events. Typically, to get to this page look for an option “post a job or internship”.
• There should also be contact information listed on the page. This could be a specific employee or a recruiting@univeristy.edu email address.

You should build relationships with colleges and universities in the area or schools that you want to obtain talent from. Participating in events at the school will also help create buzz around your firm and attract top interns to the program.

First, reach out to career services. Explain that you are looking to put together an internship program and would like to get in touch with a representative at the school to discuss internship needs and how you can work together.

Once you are able to schedule a call, be sure to touch on the following points:

• What the firm does and the types of interns you are looking for.
• The school’s process for matching interns with employers (if any).
• Trends they have noticed (i.e., the year of study the students typically do an internship, disciplines they come from, etc.)
• Does the university offer credit?
• Does the internship need to be paid? (Some universities require this.)
• Are there any events coming up (career fairs, information sessions, etc.) that you could get involved in right away?

Stay in touch with the contact throughout the school year to maintain the relationship. Having a relationship with colleges and universities will ensure that you are up to date with any career fairs or events on campus. It will also increase the possibility of the school recommending your company to current or graduating students. Not only can that increase the number of qualified intern candidates you receive, but also the number of recent graduates interested in your company.

Okay, yes, the economy is not stellar right now. And yes, the unemployment rate is a little high. But it is not the end of the world and there are plenty of jobs out there if you go out and look for them (especially if you went to Yale).

In the past, it may have been okay for Ivy Leaguers to sit back and wait for the offers to come to them, but times are changing and these days students from any school and any background need to take an active role in their job search.

For all the soon-to-be graduates out there, here are a few tips to get you started:

1) Attend Career Fairs

I got my first entry-level job out of school at a career fair (and this was in 2010 – the economy was not stellar then, either). Every school has them and a lot of great companies attend looking for students just like the Yale senior who wrote this article.

Sign up early and review the list of companies attending. That way you know which booths you’ll want to visit and can be prepared to speak to your skills and how they will impact each particular company. Be sure to bring plenty of resumes and dress professionally.

2) Visit Career Services

They are there to help you! Have them look over your resume or go through a mock interview with you. They may also be in the know about which companies are hiring entry-level positions that fit what you are looking for.

3) Apply and Follow Up

Chances are, your college or university has a job-posting site. Think about it — if a company is posting on that site, they are targeting students from that university, aka you! Apply to positions posted there, apply to positions posted elsewhere, and send your resume to companies that are of particular interest to you.

Then, follow up. If you don’t hear back on your application within a week or two, send an email to a contact associated with position and inquire about the status of your application. It’s okay to be aggressive, just don’t cross the line into pushy.

There are plenty of open positions out there. Otherwise, recruiters like me would be out of a job. The key is getting off the couch and taking an active role in your job search. Once you know where to look and how to apply, all that’s left is nailing the interview.

What do you think? Do Millennials truly have it tough or do they just need to get more active in their job search?

Interviewing a candidate for an internship is incredibly different from interviewing for a full-time role on the team. Since intern candidates are generally current students with little to no professional experience, it’s not always reasonable to expect them to know how to interview or to have polished skills.

You can’t ask them questions about their experience working with Salesforce, for example, or their past interactions with customers, because they probably don’t have any. Instead, you should be looking for examples of leadership and work ethic from their schoolwork and part-time positions. Ask the open-ended questions that will get them talking and be careful not to cut them off.

Here are a few questions to get you started:

Ice breakers: Help Interns Get Comfortable Talking about Themselves

• What are you studying in school and why did you choose that major?
• Why do you want to work for our company?
• What do you hope to gain from this experience?
• Where do you want to be in 10 years?
• Tell me about your professional interests.
• Tell me about your personal interests.

Assess Their Leadership

• Are you involved in any extracurricular activities? If so, why did you choose those activities? What role do you play in the group/team?
• Tell me about a time that you worked in a team — how did that team function and what was your role?
• Explain a challenge you have had to overcome — how did you do it?
• Tell me about a time that you improved on an established way of doing something.

Gauge Their Work Ethic and Organization

• Give me an example of when you have done more than what was required in a course.
• Tell me about a time you had a particularly heavy course load — how did you manage your time?
• How have you balanced your time between your academic work and your extracurricular activities?
• What goals have you set for yourself for this year and the next few years? How are you ensuring that you stay on track to meet those goals?

At the end of the interview, be sure to answer any questions prospective interns may have about the firm and the role they will be playing within the team.

Interviewing an intern candidate should be focused more on whether they will be a culture fit and align with the company’s mission and vision. You should hire the intern who will fit in with the team and provide them the skills they will need to succeed.

What are the most important qualities you look for in an intern?

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If you have decided that you will be hiring interns for the summer, the next step is deciding whether or not you want to have a paid or unpaid internship program. Unpaid internships were the norm back in the day, but they have become increasingly rare. While the war for talent (even student talent) may be part of the reason companies have upped the ante, the rules and regulations put in place around unpaid internships may have also played a role in the transition.

Think Interns = Free Labor? Not So Fast: Know Your Internship Program Regulations

While an unpaid internship may sound appealing to the budget, there are guidelines laid out through the Federal Labor Laws that must be followed for the unpaid internship to be legal. I have summarized them below:

• The training should be similar to what they would receive at a vocational school: This means that the experience students get from the internship should be tailored more closely to their education than toward the employers’ operations. For instance, if the student is studying marketing, every project they work on should be designed to enhance their marketing skills regardless of whether or not the project is top priority for the company.
• The training is for the benefit of the student: The student should not be doing productive work for the company that would not benefit him or her. This benefit needs to be more than “learning a new skill” or “professional experience”.
• The student does not replace a regular employee: You cannot use an intern to cut your overhead costs.
• The employer derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the student and may even be impeded: This may be the most important one. Any efforts that the student makes must be offset by the impediments the company incurs through training and supervising the intern. If an intern is working independently to complete projects that will benefit the company, they must be paid.
• The student is not entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship: If there is any chance that an intern could be offered a job at the end of the internship, you must pay them.
• Both the employer and student understand that this role will not be compensated.

In general, if you are unsure whether your program meets the guidelines, pay the intern. Internship pay ranges anywhere from $10-$20 per hour depending on location, the company, the industry, and the job function.

When considering an unpaid internship it is best to consult with a lawyer to ensure you are following the regulations and will not be hit with any surprise lawsuits.

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A summer internship program is a way to help students learn valuable skills while allowing them to add value to your company. Part-time or full-time assistance from a student can be a great way to complete backlogs or projects that the current team may not have capacity to work on.

That being said, internships require resources like time and money. It is not a good idea to hire an intern for the sake of hiring an intern. You should only do so when you are absolutely sure your company and the intern can benefit.

Before hiring an intern, make sure you can say “yes” to the following questions:

1) Does our team have enough meaningful work to keep the intern(s) busy for a period of time?

Internships have become much more than coffee runs and cleaning out the file cabinets. In order for an intern to add value to the firm and to gain value from the internship, they need to be assigned meaningful work. This means getting them involved in projects that will impact the company and leverage their skills, while giving them the chance to learn something new.

That being said, you need to determine if your team will have projects for the intern to work on and how long those projects will take. This will help you determine whether you need an intern, how many interns you need, and how many hours per week you can keep an intern busy. Also, keep in mind that an intern will not work as quickly as a seasoned member of the team, especially in the beginning. As a rule of thumb, budget for projects to take 1.5x – 2x longer than they would if you were completing them.

2) Is there a team member with the desire and capacity to mentor the intern(s)?

The mentor should be someone who is interested in management and has time to devote to the intern.

3) Is there room in the team’s budget to pay the intern’s wage?

This is assuming that you will have a paid internship program. Paid internships can range anywhere from $10 – $20 per hour on average depending on the industry, location, and concentration of the work (engineering, marketing, etc.).

4) Is there desk space for the intern, including a computer and phone?

The point of an internship is to give students a taste of the “real world.” It would be hard for them to feel like an employee if they don’t even have a desk to sit at. Make sure to treat them like a part of the team, which includes giving them a space to work.

Interns can be a great asset to your company, potentially even becoming future hires! But be careful not to jump the gun and hire interns without having a clear understanding of what they will be doing and how they will fit into the team. The last thing you want is for the intern to waste their summer in a mindless position that adds no value to the company.

Have you had particular success or cautionary stories hiring on interns you can share?

For expansion-stage companies, networking and attending these events is an important part of finding top talent to join your company. But how do you make your company stand out against the Microsofts and Googles of the world?

Here are some career fair recruiting tips to get you started

• Look for career fairs geared towards startups: Examples include Harvard’s Start-up Career Fair and MIT’s Startlabs Career Fair.
• Send representatives from the teams you are looking to hire for: Sending an engineer to speak with computer science students will be much more effective than having a sales person trying to talk development.
• Bring simple job descriptions and material about the company: Create easy to read pamphlets, brochures, or index cards that explain what you do, why candidates should want to work at your company, and the types of positions you are hiring for.
• Display an eye-catching banner and/or table cloth: Use a bright color or list some of your well-known clients that will appeal to college students.
• Bring plenty of business cards! You want it to be clear with whom they should follow up with if they are interested in the company.
• Bring inexpensive but quality “swag”: College students love free stuff — T-shirts, bottle openers, water bottles, and balls are always big hits!
• Be prepared to sell the company and talk about your culture and vision: Make candidates excited about the company and the prospect of working with the team.
• Respond to all resumes and follow-ups: Thank them for stopping by the booth and let them know you will be in touch if there are any opportunities for them. Even if they are not a fit for opportunities right now, maybe they will be when they graduate.

Career fairs can be extremely valuable to your company if you go about them the right way. Make sure to prepare materials ahead of time and send employees that are good networkers! Also, make note of which fairs were valuable and which weren’t so that you can know which ones to attend next year.

I’m sorry Mr. Adler, but I have to respectively disagree. I may not have been in the business in the ’70s, but I can think of a few ways companies are hiring now that they weren’t using then.

In Recruiting, Technology Has Changed Everything

For starters, in the 1970s companies weren’t creating enticing career pages and posting jobs online. The immediate submission process online, alone, has changed hiring drastically. This also allows companies to ask pre-screening questions before even reviewing a resume — making hiring a bit more accurate, if you ask me.

Additionally, let’s not forget the impact of platforms like LinkedIn, allowing recruiters to reach out to passive candidates on top of active candidates, and Twitter, allowing companies to market their jobs and culture.

Beyond that, expansion-stage technology companies are now participating in and hosting events that attract the candidates they are looking for. These range from career fairs to Hackathons to MeetUps. This is something companies were not doing much of a few decades ago and it is absolutely leading to quicker, more qualified hires.

Point / Counterpoint: Has Hiring Accuracy Really Improved?

Additionally, Mr. Adler suggests that HR and recruiting are stuck in this “time warp” because of the lack of measuring and managing what we want to improve. He makes the following suggestions:

1. Stop using skills and experience-based job descriptions: What? Job descriptions need to include the skills and experience required — this is one of the first sections people look at. I do agree, however, that job descriptions should include more action items describing what this person will be responsible for on a day-to-day basis or within the first few months of employment.
2. Measure the hiring manager’s ability to attract, develop and retain top people: I agree with this, but I also think it is something that companies are already doing. Aren’t most hiring managers also given reviews? In those reviews the performance of their team is almost always a primary touch point. If it’s not, it should be.
3. Never interview more than four people for any job: I just don’t think this is a fair limit. Going back to the conversation on hiring for culture — cultural fit is best assessed in the in-person interview. There is a chance that none of the first four people you interview fit the culture and you may need to interview more candidates to ensure you’re hiring the right one. I do agree that, if you find you are interviewing a large number of people for one opening, you should reassess what you are looking for and where these people are falling short. The point where the number becomes “large” is arbitrary though, and will differ depending on the position.
4. Define “Quality of Hire” before the person is hired: Isn’t this the point of the interview process and something that companies are already doing?

There is Always Room to Advance and Improve, but Recruiting Has Moved Forward

In conclusion, it is my opinion that HR and recruiting, especially within expansion-stage technology companies, has become more advanced through the years. No one is perfect and we will never get to 100% success rate with hiring — companies constantly have to evolve and get creative with their recruiting and I’m sure this will continue through the years and decades to come.

Who do you agree with — me or Mr. Adler? Has recruiting evolved or is it stuck in a time warp?

Cool, right? But being a talent specialist, my first question is, can companies reel in top talent by using Vine for social recruitment?

It is always exciting to consider incorporating new technology and features into the talent acquisition process, but in this case I don’t see Vine being a game-changer, at least on its own. After all, what can you really show someone in six seconds or shorter that would entice them to apply to your company?

Recruiting needs meat, links to job descriptions, career pages, and other information about the company. In today’s war for talent, candidates want to know all the information before taking the time to apply or interview, and they want that information readily available.

Now, if you use your Twitter account to share your Vine video and include a link to the meat, you may just have something. This is easy to do as Twitter acquired Vine, and while you don’t need a Twitter account to sign up, it is easy enough to link them together when sharing.

That being said, you clearly don’t have time to explain a job opening in six seconds. However, you can show potential candidates something that would interest them enough to learn more. Some options include:

• A short promo video for your company: Think snap shots of the office and a brief explanation of what the company does.
• A quick feature highlighting your company culture and employee activities: Share a video of your employees helping at a charity or having fun at the office Christmas party. Give prospects a taste of what they could be part of.
• Testimonials: Record employees saying one line answering the question, “Why do you love working here?”
• An introduction to a new employee: This one is not as much for recruiting as it is for just getting your company out there in general. It would be a really cool way to show off new hires. Have them explain where they came from, what they will be doing at the company and why they are excited to work there. Prospective candidates will want to be in the next video!

The key is to keep it creative and fun. You only have six seconds and the goal is to catch candidates’ attention and get them interested in looking into your company and the current open positions.

Between Twitter and LinkedIn, social media recruiting is a must for your company. But make sure you do it right. There is a fine line between intriguing a candidate and turning them off all together.

For more examples of companies experimenting with using Vine for social recruitment (and more), visit the following:

The Jim Stroud Show episode: What Twitter’s “Vine” means to the Recruiting World

These Companies are Using Vine to Try to Recruit You by Kris Holt at The Daily Dot

6 Ways Brands Will Use Vine Videos as Content by Kevin Briody at Pace

What other ways can companies use Vine for social recruiting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Both of you are in the hot seat. With the war for talent we are in right now, candidate experience is key. You need to be sure to impress the candidate just as much as they need to impress you. Regardless of whether they get the role or not – you want them to have a good taste in their mouth leaving the interview. If they are not your next hire, they might know who is!

Here are seven steps to ensure you are prepared for the interview:

Step 1: Read the Resume!

As silly as it sounds, a lot of interviewers see the resume for the first time when they sit down to talk to the candidate. By reading through the resume ahead of time you will have a better idea of the areas you want to dig in on, which leads into step two.

Step 2: Prepare Questions

You don’t need to write down every question you plan to ask, but after reviewing the resume, write down some questions you want to remember. You should also have a standard set of questions you ask each candidate for the position. This way you can make a more informed decision when deciding whom to hire.

Step 3: Do Your Homework

Has this candidate spoken to someone else in the company? If so, get that person’s rundown of the candidate. You should also ask if there is anything that person forgot to ask or anything they think you should dig deeper into.

Step 4: Plan Ahead

Don’t leave to grab lunch 15 minutes before your interview is supposed to start. Be on time and don’t be rushed. The candidate will not be impressed if you come running in, out of breath, with crumbs on your shirt.

Additionally, leave extra time after the interview. If it is going well you may want to chat longer and shouldn’t have to cut off to run to another meeting.

Step 5: Bring a Notebook

This is a piece of advice that goes both ways. Taking notes on a candidate will not only help you remember key points in the future, it will also let the candidate know that you are listening and interested in what they have to say.

Step 6: Bring Business Cards

Make sure to hand the candidate a business card at the beginning or end of the interview. This way they have your contact information and can easily send a thank you note.

Step 7: Put Your Game Face On

Were you just reprimanded by your manager? Did you have a fight with your significant other? Just not feeling like interviewing? Suck it up, this candidate took the time out of their schedule to prepare for the interview and meet with you. They deserve the same courtesy from you.

Also, even if you know within the first five seconds that the person is not a fit, chat with them, ask them about their background. If you show that you are not into it, they will see that and the candidate experience will be soiled.

Being prepared for an interview is a crucial piece of ensuring a candidate has a great experience throughout the interview process. Like I mentioned above, they may not be the right person, but someone they know might be!

What are your interview preparation tips for interviewers? Share them in the comments below!

When you are an expansion-stage company and growing very quickly, you need to hire quickly.

In a hiring crunch it can be easy to open your doors to multiple vendors that promise to simplify your recruiting and hand you multiple “perfect” candidates to choose from (and of course those candidates will come with ponies and rainbows, too).

So you sign an agreement with them and wait for the magic to happen. Well, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Utilizing 3^rd party search firms can be very helpful and can lead to many successful hires. But only if the relationships are managed effectively.

I should tell you first, I used to work for a recruiting agency, and they provided a ton of value to their clients. I also know first hand the metrics and competition within agencies that can sometimes lead to sub-par candidates or inaccurate screening (hearing what you want to hear). But, hey – no one’s perfect.

When you open up your recruiting to external resources you are likely going to be interacting with multiple recruiting agencies. Like I said, these relationships need to be managed. There needs to be someone screening resumes and speaking to candidates prior to passing them through to the hiring manager — what you need is a gatekeeper of sorts.

This person will be flooded with candidates from these agencies. How do you make sure that you are not wasting your time going through 50 resumes to find one who fits the requirements? And when do you determine things aren’t working and it’s time to fire a recruiting agency?

Implement a Strike Policy

Sound harsh? Maybe it is, but it will force recruiting agencies to be careful about the candidates they are sending over. It will also help you weed out recruiting agencies that aren’t worth working with, and help you maintain relationships with only the ones that will provide real value to your company,

Give a recruiting agency a strike if:

• A candidate sent over does not meet the minimum requirements for the role
• A candidate sent over was not aware they were sent to the company
• The candidate was not told anything about the position or company
• A candidate sent over is not interested in the position or commuting to the location (if being onsite is needed)

Now, if a recruiting agency reaches five strikes (or any amount you decide on), discontinue working with them for a period of time. I don’t say forever here because things can always change — the representative who was working with you could leave, new (awesome) recruiters could be hired, etc. It may be worth giving them another chance in 6-12 months.

Managing relationships with multiple vendors can be daunting. The key is to remember that they are working for you. If they are not providing value, it is not worth your time to work with them.

When do you think it’s appropriate to fire a recruiting agency?

Now that we have that covered, let’s discuss how to find the right sourcing resource for your talent team. This is an important decision as this will be a tool your talent team uses on a daily basis. You really want to make sure you chose the one(s) that will allow them to find the right candidates as efficiently as possible.

Examples of Sourcing Resources

• Monster: Prices for a seat vary depending on location parameters (local or national), duration, and business size. Range between $575 (1 month) and $1750 (3 months) or you can call for a customized solution.
• CareerBuilder: Prices for one seat vary between $600 for two week and $6000 for one year.
• Dice (IT Only): Contact sales for plan options.
• LinkedIn: Prices vary; please refer to my previous blog for more detail.
• TalentBin: This site gathers candidate information from sites like LinkedIn, StackOverflow, Github, and Meetup to and provides you with one list of matching candidates. This site is primarily used for IT needs and costs $799/month or $4,800 for a year.

What Should You Look for in a Sourcing Resource?

ROI

Make sure that the cost of the resource provides a return on your investment. Inquire about trials or guarantees. Look into reviews and customer statements. You want to make sure that this sourcing resource is resulting in quicker hires and saving you money in the long run.

Target Markets

As briefly stated above, certain sites are geared towards a certain market. For example, TalentBin and Dice are geared toward IT Professionals. If you are heavily hiring in one area; these sites will attract the best talent in that area. If you hire for various different backgrounds, a more general site may be your best bet.

Seats

Do you have to pay per seat? If so, is there a discount if you bundle seats together? Depending on the size of your Talent team, the number of open positions and the typical day of each Talent Specialist; it may be more cost effective to have them share seats as long as you make sure it won’t affect their productivity.

Make Your Decision Carefully!

Choosing a sourcing resource is a big decision. If you have no sourcing experience yourself it can be hard to tell what is right for your team. Make sure to get their input and consult with outside resources to make the most education decision.

What sourcing resources does your company use to find and recruit top talent?

You’ve searched long and hard for the perfect candidate. You finally found the one and want to extend an offer, but what’s the absolute best way to do that? Never fear — here are a few things you need to consider before you make that call.

Who will present the offer?

First and foremost, decide who should be the one to deliver the offer. Is it HR, the Talent Specialist who recruited the candidate, or the person that the position will be reporting to (hiring manager)?

Maybe your company has a protocol. Maybe one person has already developed a great relationship with the candidate. Be sure to think about whom the candidate would be most receptive to.

Get a verbal acceptance

Once you’ve  deliver the offer make sure to keep it positive — the excitement that you convey over the phone will rub off on the candidate. You want them to know that you’re very happy to invite them to come on board.

Also, try to get an answer over the phone — a “verbal acceptance” will help solidify their commitment and decrease the chances of it falling through. If you cannot get a verbal acceptance, find out why. Are they concerned with the offer amount? Do they have reservations about the position? Try to alleviate any doubts right then and there.

What should be included in the offer letter?

Your company’s administration or HR department should have a template to use. If not, you should work with your legal or HR team (or an outside source if necessary) to create one. Make sure you include all the basic necessary items, such as:

• Name of Employee
• Name of Company
• Title of Position
• Start Date
• Salary/Hourly Rate
• Bonus/Other Incentives
• Benefits
• Legalities (at-will employment, etc.)
• Job Description (could be appendix)

Additionally, you should set a deadline for a response. Typically this should be between 48 hours to a week. The more time you give (and the more time it takes), the more likely it is the candidate will not accept.

Preparing for counter offers

Counter offers from the employee’s current employer are always a concern. No matter what the candidate’s reasons for looking for a new position are, there are always things the current employer can say or do that can entice them to stay. Although there is significant data out there that suggests accepting a counter offer is rarely a good idea, you need to be proactive, not reactive.

Throughout the interview process you should be able to get a feel for the candidate’s current relationship with their employer and/or manager. Maybe they are extremely unhappy. In that case, you have less to worry about. However, it is very possible that they are happy where they are but are interviewing because the opportunity you are presenting is a great one.

Be prepared by leaving a little wiggle room in the offer to allow you to increase it if necessary or consider adding a sign-on bonus. Show this candidate that you are extremely interested in having them join your team.

When in doubt, go back to your notes

What is the candidate looking for in an offer? Will he or she need X amount in order to accept? Maybe he or she is looking for at least 3 weeks of vacation or wants to be able to work from home. In such a case, don’t bother presenting an offer that is not what they are looking for. The chances of it being accepted are very low.

You also need to mentally prepare yourself for the candidate to accept the counter offer. Do not close the search until you have a signed offer letter in hand and the candidate has given their notice to their current employer. This way, in the event that the candidate ultimately rejects your offer, you do not have to start from scratch.

Extending an offer can be tricky and it’s discouraging when it is turned down.  Make sure you are well prepared before making that call. Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst is the way to go.

What keys do you keep in mind when extending offers? Do you have a story you can share about lessons learned?

Does your business have a company career page on its website? At its most basic, it’s a page for candidates and prospects to peruse in order to learn more about your company and what it is like to work there.

If your answer is yes, good — please read on to learn how to optimize the career page to attract the best candidates possible.

If you answered “no” go back to your Webmaster and have them implement one ASAP. Then come back and find out how to make your career page the best it can be.

Here are five essential items to include in your company career page:

Job Postings

Make sure you list all of your public, open positions on the site. After all, this is a page for potential candidates. Once they realize how awesome your company is to work for, it should be as easy as possible for them to hit “Apply”.

Additionally, make sure to have a general application option. This way, if there are no positions that match the candidate’s profile, they can still send their resume in for future consideration.

About Page/Video

Not all candidates may immediately know who you are or what you do. Some may stumble upon your job site through search. Set your company apart by clearly explaining what you do and defining your culture and values.

Some companies choose to include a “Hiring Video” portraying these things, which is a great way to set your company apart! You want to make sure that the candidates who apply not only know who you are and what you do, but are really excited about the prospect of working with you, as well.

Benefits

Be sure to list some of the benefits your company offers, both quantitative (healthcare, PTO, bonuses, etc.) and qualitative (flexible schedule, employee outings, etc.). No need to get into great detail, but list them out and make sure to include any that set you apart from other companies (free lunch daily, bring your dog to work day, sit/stand work stations, etc.).

Photos

Be proud of your employees and your office space! Show off with photos of everyday work as well as the extra stuff.

Did your company volunteer at a local food bank? Show it off! Did you go to a sporting event as a team? Show it off! Just remodeled the office? Show these candidates where they will be working and what they will be a part of.

Contact Information

Include a contact, whether it be a general jobs@company.com email address or the name, email, and phone number of someone on your talent team. If these candidates have questions or just want to follow up on their application it should be clear how they can do that.

Having a good company career page could be the difference between attracting a good applicant and the perfect applicant. Fun, techy, expansion-stage or startup companies are not a rarity anymore. You need to go above and beyond to attract great candidates. We know you treat your employees very well – why not tell these candidates what they could be missing?

I have outlined the paid LinkedIn account options your talent team should consider below. Discuss these together as a team to determine which option makes the most sense for you.

For starters, LinkedIn has two categories of upgrades that they offer:

1. An upgrade to your personal account
2. The full-blown “LinkedIn Recruiter” package (the OpenView talent team uses this)

Upgrades to your personal account geared towards anyone:

These paid LinkedIn account options involve plans for the general public that provide some premium benefits. All options allow you to see full profiles of anyone in your network and see who has viewed your profile.

Business: This is the lowest level upgrade and would probably not make sense for your talent team. It costs $24.95/month (or $19.95/month if you sign up for a year) and includes:

• 3 Inmails (email through LinkedIn)
• 300 profile views per search (as opposed to 100)
• 4 premium filters to help with your search

Business Plus: This is the plan that we used before getting LinkedIn Recruiter. It costs $49.95/month ($39.95/month if you sign up for a year). It includes:

• 10 Inmails
• 500 profile views per search
• 4 premium filters to help with your search

Executive: This is the most expensive of this category — it costs $99.95/month ($74.95/month if you sign up for a year). This one includes:

• 25 Inmails/month
• 700 profile views per search
• 4 Premium Filters to help with your search

Upgrades to your personal account geared towards recruiters:

These paid LInkedIn account options include plans specifically designed to fit the needs of a recruiter. They are more expensive than the options outlined above, but they also provide organizational benefits that help with sourcing for searches. All of these plans include full profiles of anyone in your network, a full list of who has viewed your profile, and priority customer service.

Talent Basic: This plan is the least expensive and costs $49.95/month or $39.95 if you sign up for a year. It includes:

• 10 Inmails/month
• 4 premium filters to help with your search
• 500 profile views per search
• 25 folders to manage candidates
• 7 saved searches with new candidate alerts weekly

Talent Finder: The middle tier option is the one “recommended” by LinkedIn. This plan costs $99.95/month ($74.95/month if you sign up for a year) and includes:

• 25 Inmails/month
• 8 premium filters to help with your search
• 700 profile views per search
• 50 folders to manage candidates
• 10 saved searches with new candidate alerts daily

Talent Pro: The most expensive plan costs $499.95/month ($399.95/month if you sign up for a year). This plan includes:

• 50 Inmails/month
• 8 premium filters to help with your search
• 1,000 profile views per search
• 75 folders to manage candidates
• 15 saved searches with new candidate alerts daily

Last but certainly not least, there are LinkedIn Recruiter options. These plans do not work off of your personal account but provide you with a different dashboard all together. This option also has an ATS-like feature called “Talent Pipeline”.

There are two options to chose from, “Recruiter Small Business” and “Recruiter Corporate”. Both options include the following features:

• Enable you to see the full profiles of 3^rd degree connections.
• Provide you with premium search with advanced filters and search alerts.
• Allow you to view “similar profiles”
• 50 Inmails/month
• Pipeline management

Recruiter Small Business: As this plan includes only one account for the entire company, it would be good for either a one person talent team or a consultant, but not for a full talent factory. This option costs $499.95 monthly ($399.95/month for an annual membership). This option limits the amount of profiles views for people outside your network and does not allow for collaboration between team members.

Recruiter Corporate: This is the option that the Talent Team at Openview Labs uses. It’s the best option for a Talent Factory or any recruiting teams out there that want to collaborate on searches. The cost is $849.95 monthly ($679.95/month if you get an annual subscription). This option allows you to view unlimited profiles outside of your network. Additionally, you have the option to share all of your folders and notes with team members. This is great for teams to avoid doubling efforts for one search.

Job Postings

LinkedIn is also a great place to post openings as it’s becoming the place to go when looking for a job. Additionally, your postings could even attract passive candidates thanks to LinkedIn’s “Jobs you may be interested in” posted right on the home page. Job posting options include:

Personal account:

• $295.00 for one 30-day posting
• $1150.00 for a five-pack of 30-day postings
• $1750.00 for a 10-pack of 30 day postings (this option makes the most sense as along as you will be able to use them)

Recruiter Account (Slots that are good for one year and can be switched out as often as you please):

• $8,020 each for 1-2 slots
• $7,400 each for 3-10 slots
• $1,080 each for 11-20 slots
• $972 each for 21-50 slots
• $875 each for 51-100 slots

Still don’t know where to begin? Never fear! To get you started I have provided some comparisons of the more well-known job posting sites. Keep in mind, there are many more that may actually be a better fit for your needs, so make sure to do your homework!

Monster

In my opinion, this is the most well known site that is used strictly for job searching. That being said, it does not always attract the best candidates.

While the candidates who use the site are of varied skill sets, they tend to be more junior. A lot of college students go to Monster because it’s one of the only sites they are aware of. For that reason, this site might be best used for your entry-level positions.

Posting a position ranges anywhere for $130 to $395 depending on whether it is for 30-days or 60-days and how many you purchase together.

Careerbuilder

This site is very similar to Monster. Again, it’s diluted with very junior candidates who will apply to any position that has a keyword they are searching for. I would limit use of this site to temp or very entry-level roles in administration. Posting is also even more expensive, ranging from $176 to $419 depending on how many slots you bundle together.

ZipRecruiter

This one is less known compared to the first two. I came across the site when I was working in an agency and we were offered a free-trial.

When posting on ZipRecruiter, you are supposedly posting on 30+ different job sites including Indeed, SimplyHired, TopUSAJobs, Oodle, etc. The site will post to Monster, Careerbuilder, LinkedIn, etc. for you as well, but at an extra cost (the cost of posting).

ZipRecruiter has a few plan options from $59/month to $199/month depending on how many postings you would need. This site is good for most positions since it goes out to many different sites. Be careful though, I have used ZipRecruiter without much luck in the past.

Dice

This is a posting site like Monster or Careerbuilder, but geared specifically to IT professionals. I have had pretty good success with this site and find that if a developer or IT professional is going to look at a job site, it is going to be this one.

That’s a huge plus, but it unfortunately comes at a price: $495 for a single 30-day posting, additional options for premium 60-day postings, or a complete recruiting package that you would need to contact sales about.

Craigslist

Most people know what Craigslist is, but don’t think of it for job postings. It does in fact have one, and it is either free or just $25 to post on, depending on the location. This could be a nice, cheaper option for entry-level positions.

StackOverflow

This is actually not a “job posting site” but rather a site used by developers to collaborate. That being said, the fact that they do have a career section is very beneficial. This would be the place to post your Software Engineer openings, particularly the more senior, hard-to-find positions.

The postings cost $350 for 30 days, with a money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the quality of the candidates

ExecuNet and TheLadders

These are job posting sites geared to executives (hence the names). Originally, it was required that a job pay at least $100k to be posted on both sites. ExecuNet has since gotten rid of that requirement while TheLadders is still $100k+. Either site will most likely bring in a similar crowd.

These are the places to post any management positions you have open. ExecuNet is pretty secretive with their costs but a Starter Membership (30 days access with one posting) is $995. They offer annual memberships as well, but you would need to speak with a representative about that.

TheLadders is more forthcoming with their information; they have a free passport membership that has unlimited postings and searches on the site, a “FitFinder” membership that assigns you a Talent Specialist who will do the work for you along with unlimited postings and searches for $750, and a customizable “RecruiterSuite” with varying costs.

Universities

The colleges and universities in your area could be great resources for hiring entry-level or mid-level candidates. Most have posting sites for current students and alumni and at no cost! All you have to do is go to the career services page on the website, find the posting outlet and create a profile.

LinkedIn

Last but not least, LinkedIn is probably the best resource for posting positions and finding candidates out there today. That being said, I will be dedicating my post next week to reviewing the many options that LinkedIn offers to recruiters and Talent Factories. Stay tuned!

There are a few different things to consider:

1. Cost

First and foremost, how much will the posting cost? They can range anywhere from free to $500, so it is important to look at that cost first and assess whether it is even in your budget.

From there you can move on to see if a site makes sense for you. Additionally, make sure to look into the length of the posting you get for your money. Is it 15, 30, or 60 days? A posting that costs $100 for 15 days might be cheaper up front, but it is not a deal when comparing it to a posting that costs $300 but is up for 60 days. When you consider time, decide how long you think you will need the post up before the position is filled. If it is a quick and easy find, maybe the cheaper 15-day option makes more sense.

2. ROI

You need to look into the expected return on investment for the postings. This will depend on a few different things and will vary for each job within each company.

• First, compare the cost of the posting to how much a specific hire will benefit the company and how quickly the role needs to be filled. If it is not as urgent, it may make sense to recruit heavily through sourcing, rather than spend $500+ on an elite-posting site.
• Second, speak with a rep from the site about the average applicants each posting draws and what percentage of people that view postings end up applying. Also, ask how much traffic the site gets and see if it has any testimonials or reviews from past clients that you can review. Well-established sites will have this information for you.
• Lastly, ask if there is any kind of trial period (i.e. 30 days or one free posting) that would allow you to try the site before committing to a job slot or a package of slots? This would be a great way to gauge first hand the quality of the applicants without having to pay for anything. In addition to proactively reaching out, monitor your e-mail for any promotional offers and always take advantage of them! Similarly, see if the site has any kind of guarantee (i.e. receive 50 applications or your money back). Even if it’s not advertised the site may have one, so it is worth asking about.

3. Target Market

There are a ton of job boards out there that are specific to a certain industry or skill set. Make sure you do your research to try to find those first. A lot of those sites are free and they are often the best way to reach the people you want. Also, a lot of professional groups and organizations have websites. You may be able to post the position there or send it out to group members in an e-mail. If nothing else, make sure you’re aware of the target market for the posting site so that you avoid posting sales job openings on an IT site.

With so many options out there, choosing the job posting sites that are right for your company and position can be daunting. Start by researching and looking into the three items above. Once you have a talent factory up and running, you will have a good idea of the sites that work for you and it will become second nature.

Next week I will talk about a few of the better known sites out there, and dig into the the markets or positions they tend to target, and the options for posting to them.

Last week I wrote about what you need to consider when implementing an ATS. Now, if you’ve successfully chosen and implemented a system, it’s time to start using an ATS as soon as possible, right?

Wrong! You need to make sure that you have best practices in place for how that ATS will be utilized before the team starts using an ATS. Without processes in place, there won’t be any consistency in the coding and notes on each candidate profile, making the thousands of dollars that you spent on the system a waste.

No one likes to waste money, so here are some tips on practices and processes that need to be decided before you start using an ATS:

1. Entering Candidates

When is your team going to be entering a candidate into the ATS? Will it be every candidate they reach out to? Every candidate they get a response from? Or maybe just the candidates they talk to? This is the first thing that needs to be decided and what you decide on will vary depending on the way your team works. In my experience, it is generally safe to enter every candidate that is reached out to. If anything, this will help create a database of candidates that your team can refer to.

2. Contact information

You may want to require certain contact information for every candidate entered. For instance, if you are planning to load candidate profiles from LinkedIn, there is no contact information. It would make sense to require that the team member have, at least, an email address that they can enter into the profile. It helps no one to have candidates in the ATS that cannot be contacted. Additionally, make sure that the contact is updated as needed.

3. Statuses

In most systems you can customize statuses to your teams needs. Your team needs to get together and decide what statuses would make the most sense. The may include “reached out,” “pursuing,”  “interviewing,” “rejected,” “offer,” etc. Additionally, you need to make sure that your team keeps the candidate’s status updated throughout the process.

4. Notes

There are many ways to utilize the note feature in an ATS but your team needs to decide what they will make a note about and what they won’t. Otherwise, the note system will get too messy and it will be hard for one team member to decipher another’s notes. Will you require notes on every contact that the team member makes to the candidate or only the important items?

Some significant items to include would be initial contact and the role contacted for, responses and interest in the position, interview days/times, and any notes from the interview that would be helpful for future reference. Additionally, if you are going to use abbreviations, like “em” for email or “lm” for left message, make sure that everyone knows what they stand for.

Those are the basic features that most applicant tracking systems have. Other ones to think about may include email templates, candidate lists, skill coding, folders, etc.

The best way to use and manage an ATS is to ensure that there is a streamlined process for its use. This way, each team member is able to understand the notes and statuses of each candidate and may be able to step in if needed, ensuring a positive candidate experience.

Look no further! Here are six things you need to find out before deciding on and implementing the right ATS for you.

1) Usability

This one is obvious. You want to make sure you implement an ATS that is user friendly and straightforward. You don’t want to force your team to attend an 8-hour training session just to learn how to input a candidate’s information. Do your research, take a tour of the system, and go through demos. This way you can determine whether you’re confident every person on your team will be able to use it correctly and efficiently.

2) Customization

Every organization and team is different. You don’t want an ATS that makes you conform to it, you want an ATS that conforms to you! Make sure you can customize statuses, required information, format, etc. This way your team can tailor the system for your needs and the way you plan to use it. Additionally, you’ll want to make sure you are able to make changes to the customizations as needed if the team decides on a new process.

3) Job Postings and Applications

Can you post jobs on your company’s website through the ATS? If so, do applications coming in through the site get inputted directly into the ATS for your team to review? They should. This makes the process of reviewing applications much more streamlined. It also ensures that every application is entered into your ATS, even if they are not a fit for the job they applied for.

4) Cost

Another obvious one. Everything being equal, it makes the most sense to go with the most cost effective option. Make sure you don’t skimp though; get the best system for the money! Also, inquire about extra costs. Are upgrades included? Job Postings? How many seats are included in the upfront costs? How much does each extra seat cost? Are there discounts for a certain number of seats purchased at once? These are all things to think about.

5) Customer Support

Make sure to read reviews on the product and the customer support response. Even great products have their issues, and bad customer support could be very frustrating. See if you will be assigned one relationship manager to contact with any issues or if you will have to call the 800 number and wait on hold for 3 hours.

6) Hosted or Cloud/SaaS

This is a big question to consider. Hosted solutions are slower to change and fix. In my opinion, a cloud or SaaS option is the way to go. The ramp-up is quicker, the upgrades and fixes are quicker, and you have the option to access the system remotely.

Purchasing an ATS for your talent team is a large task. In order to ensure you make the right decision you need to take the time to do your research and find out all you can about the product. This way, once implemented, it is easy to get up and running and there are no surprises.

After all, choosing someone to be responsible for this task is extremely important. Not only do you need to make sure you get the right talent team in place, you also need to ensure they’re being managed effectively. Otherwise, it will not work out as well as you hope it will.

The responsibilities involved in hiring a talent team include:

• Creating and posting a job description(s)
• Fielding inbound resumes and outbound sourcing, if necessary
• Interviewing and coordinating interviews with other stake holders
• Extending offers and ensuring offer letters are signed and returned

The responsibilities involved in managing the team include:

• Onboarding and training the new talent team
• Assessing capacity and taking on new searches
• Measuring and reporting performance and metrics
• Performance reviews
• Additional hiring and firing, if needed

First, and most obvious, do you have a VP or Director of HR? If so, then he or she should be tasked with building the talent team. But what if your company — like some of our portfolio companies — doesn’t have anyone in a human resource function? Who should then be in charge of the talent team? There are a few factors you should consider when making that decision:

• Capacity: How many people or teams does this person already manage? Would they be able to effectively manage another team?
• Function: Does it make sense to have the talent team report to the CTO or VP of Engineering? Probably not. Someone in a more operational role might make more sense. In a smaller company this may even be the CEO.
• Location: Make sure the person managing the talent team is in the same location as the team you are hiring. It is important to have collaboration when setting up the team, especially at the beginning.
• Past experience: Look at the experience of your executive team. Has anyone ever been in a HR or recruiting function? If so, it might make sense to have that person manage the team.
• Current dynamic: Look at the way the teams are currently split up and let the talent team fall within an area where they would fit in well. In general, the administration and finance departments are a good place to start, whereas sales and engineering would be the last places to go to.

There are many options to look into when deciding who will hire and manage your talent team. The most important thing is always to make sure the person you choose is knowledgeable enough in the area and up to the challenge!

So after learning what a Talent Factory is and the immense value it can add to your organization, I’m sure you are all thinking “I need one!” But do you? What organizations would benefit from a talent factory? Does building one make sense for you?

Let’s find out!

The first question to ask yourself: Is this the right time for my company to implement a talent factory?

Consider the following:

Expansion Stage: Your company should be in the “expansion stage.” This means that you have a product offering and a set of customers, but are also growing at a rapid rate, creating a need to add employees just as rapidly. For more information on what defines expansion stage, read this blog from OpenView’s founder Scott Maxwell.

Employee Size: This is a hard number to nail down. Here at OpenView Labs we believe that you should have a medium-size company before implementing a Talent Factory. This means that you should currently have between 75 and 125 employees before taking this step. If you are too small, your ROI will likely not be high enough to justify a talent factory. If you are too big, chances are you are simply coming too late to the game.

Hiring Rate: For it to make sense to start hiring in-house recruiters you need to be currently hiring at a certain rate. Otherwise, the money you spend on resources and salary to employ a team will be more than what you are currently spending on talent acquisition. We believe that this number should be around 10 to 20 hires per quarter. That equates to about one hire every one or two weeks.

Budget: As with any hire, it is important to ensure that you have room in the budget to add the team. Beyond salary you have to think about resources they may need. This can include upgraded LinkedIn accounts, job postings, etc. Also, be sure to look into compensation benchmarking to ensure you are able to provide a competitive salary. You have to pay to get a great recruiter!

The next question: Where do I start?

You should make your first talent factory hire when your managers are spending too much time recruiting. Recruiting shouldn’t become an impediment to your managers. If that becomes the case any money you’re saving on employing costs is likely being canceled out by lower productivity from your managers.

Additionally, there will come a time when you should consider scaling your recruiting team. It would make sense to do this when your current team is at capacity and you have enough open positions to justify employing another team member. You also need to ensure that adding another team member will add value and you have a training process in place so that the new member is able to ramp up quickly without impeding the current team too much.

So, let’s say you have decided this all sounds great and you want to implement a talent factory. Now, who should be responsible for managing the team and for the hiring, in general? Should you outsource the recruiting efforts for this person? Should someone internally be responsible? If you have a VP of HR in place then the answer is simple – this team would fall under her. But what if you don’t? You need to decide who would be most effective in hiring and managing this team. Some possibilities are your CEO, CFO, or COO/VP of Operations. It all depends on your company size and the dynamics of the current team.

After reading this, hopefully you have a better idea about whether or not a talent factory is right for your company. If not, no worries! There are plenty more tips where these came from.

*Note – This could also be relevant if you have someone in a recruiting or HR capacity already but have not yet implemented a full talent factory.

As we all know, recruiting is your biggest HR asset, but in what ways?

Lower recruitment costs: Most companies that do not have a Talent Factory or an in-house recruiter resort to using staffing agencies for the bulk of their hiring. For full time employees, agencies can charge 20 – 35% of the first year’s salary as a “finders fee”. Depending on how much hiring you are doing, there is a good chance that you are paying much more in fees than what it would cost to employ an in-house Talent Factory.

Higher ROI: Similar to the point above, not only will an in-house talent team result in a lower cost per hire go, it will also enable you to hire multiple candidates should there be more than one opening for the same position at no extra cost. For instance, if you are hiring for your sales team you may need two or three people with the same profile. If you had a talent team they would be able to provide you with a group of candidates you can chose from to pull the best two or three options. If you were hiring through an agency, on the other hand, you would need to pay for each hire. An in-house talent team can also maintain an ongoing search for a particular skill set you are always looking for, making those hires move quicker.

Better candidate experience: Having an in-house Talent Factory will create a more streamlined process for hiring. This will ensure that each candidate has a similar experience, is told the same information, and goes through the same process. In turn, your candidates will have a better experience, overall, and your company will be able to make an educated decision on who the best candidate for the job is.

Improved visibility: The Talent Team will also provide valuable marketing for your company. They will be out at career fairs and networking events creating more visibility for your company within your desired candidate pool.

More credibility: Candidates will always be more responsive and feel more confident when they are contacted directly from the company as opposed to a 3^rd party. This will facilitate quicker hires with more qualified candidates. Additionally, when contacting candidates directly from the company, you are cutting out a piece of the process and allowing it to move along more smoothly.

Greater sense of urgency: A Talent Factory creates a sense of urgency for hiring throughout the company. On one side, the internal recruiting team will be in the trenches. They will see the need for these new hires and be held accountable by the hiring managers waiting on qualified candidates. On the other side, the hiring managers will be forced to provide timely and complete feedback. It is a lot easier to ignore the email in your inbox than it is to ignore the person you pass in the halls.

Implementing a talent team into your organization can add value in many ways, and the ones listed above are just a few of the benefits you would reap. Want to know more about implementing a Talent Factory? Stay tuned and follow the OpenView Labs’ talent team!

Not sure what a talent factory is? Let’s start from the beginning so that all of our followers can get up to speed.

The most obvious place to start is, of course, with a proper definition of a talent factory. Once you know what it is, deciding whether or not you need one will be much easier. Furthermore, you may already have one and just don’t know it!

A talent factory consists of one or more employees whose sole responsibility is to recruit, hire, and retain strong talent within your company. Essentially, it is a strong, well-functioning recruiting team. We call it a talent factory because we are creating a “factory-like” feel as we continue to provide strong talent and grow the company.

The roles of a talent factory will vary slightly depending on your company’s needs, but the general responsibilities related specifically to hiring include the following:

• Meeting with hiring managers and discussing needs for their teams: When a manager is in need of a new employee, talent team should meet with the hiring manager to uncover specifics about what they are looking for, and potentially offer suggestions based on past experiences hiring a similar role.
• Job descriptions and salary information: The talent team is a resource that can help write job descriptions for any openings within the company, while also aiding hiring managers in determining a competitive salary package for the role.
• Sourcing/recruiting: The talent team should then go back and begin the recruiting efforts to fill the position. This includes posting the agreed upon job description, fielding all inbound resumes, outbound sourcing, and speaking to referrals.
• Initial phone screens to determine fit: Members of the talent team are generally responsible for the first conversation with the potential candidate. This would include going through their past experience, ensuring they are a fit for the requirements of the role, and reviewing their salary requirements. If they are a strong fit, the candidate can be passed through to the hiring manager.
• Moving the candidates through the process: Per the point above, a talent specialist can pass a candidate though to the next step after speaking with them. Beyond that, they are also responsible for setting up further interviews throughout the process.
• Implementing interviewing best practices throughout the company: The talent team should share interview best practices throughout the organization so that the candidate experience flows smoothly, resulting in the best candidate being hired for the job.
• Extending offers: The talent team is often responsible for extending offers to candidates. If the hiring manager extends the offer, the talent team will advise on the best way to go about extending an offer.
• Onboarding new employees: Once a candidate has been chosen and an offer has been accepted, the talent team may be responsible for ensuring that the new employee is properly onboarded.

The responsibilities laid out above are related specifically to the talent factory’s role in hiring, but a talent factory can — and will — do so much more within your company. Whether it’s employee retention or creative recruiting methods, the opportunities a talent factory can present are endless!

In an article on Inc.com, Ilya Pozin explains that 9-to-5 hours came out of the manufacturing era, when time clocks were the best way to measure an employee’s productivity on the line. But times have changed and time in the chair is no longer an accurate measure of productivity. In fact, with the myriad distractions (see: Internet browsing) that often distract employees that aren’t in the mood to work, another employee productivity model is becoming increasingly effective: autonomy.

In my opinion, it’s the key to getting the most out of each of your employees.

The essence of autonomy is that employees should be treated as adults and allowed to work in the way that they will be most productive. As long as they complete a project successfully and on time, the journey shouldn’t matter as much as the end result. If they aren’t producing, of course, then it’s a different story, and you may want to rethink who you are employing, rather than the model you use to foster employee productivity.

Not sure how to create autonomy? While every office is different and some tactics will work better than others at your company, here are some tips to help you give your employees the power, flexibility, and motivation to get their work done:

Flexible Hours

Maybe you have some early birds that are most productive early in the morning. If they want to come in at 7 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m., then let them. On the other side, maybe you have some night owls that would be more productive if they could sleep in a little later. If they want to work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., then they should be able to.

Of course, flexible hours need to factor in any meetings or inter-office dependencies, so think about implementing a policy where everyone must be in the office between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. All other hours are up to them (or something along those lines). This way you can have all of your meetings during the time that everyone is there, but still allow your employees the flexibility of working when they will be more productive.

Remote Work

Now, I am not someone that can work from home. There are too many distractions and it requires a completely different mindset. But I do know that there are people that work better from home without the numerous distractions that offices often present. Allowing your employees the option to work from home one day a week may make a big difference.

No Break Regulation

Don’t make your employees ask for permission to take a break. Sometimes people just need to go for a walk around the block to clear their head. Whether it’s one or five times a day shouldn’t matter as long as they are getting their work done and projects are being completed on schedule.

No Internet Restrictions

Similar to my point about breaks, it’s not always a bad thing for your employees to think about something else for a few minutes before going back to their work with a refreshed mind. If that means your employees want to take 10 minutes to browse RueLaLa, Facebook, or MSNBC, then so be it. That 10 minutes spent focusing on something else will probably make their next hour focused on work much more productive.

In the end, autonomy and employee productivity both boil down to hiring the right people. If you hire employees that are hard-working and trustworthy, then you should feel comfortable giving them the freedom to complete their work in the way they think is best. This will allow each employee to tailor their day around what will make them more productive, and you’ll have a well-performing, happy team as a result.

I’m sorry, but…what? If this was truly the case, wouldn’t the job of a recruiter be extremely simple, or maybe even obsolete?

I obviously do not doubt these findings. CareerBuilder published an infographic depicting these statistics and I am sure that all the information is accurate. What I am not sure of is who these 1,078 people surveyed were, and whether they are an accurate representation of the U.S. and Canada as a whole.

First, 1,078 people is a fairly small sample size of the total working population in the two countries. Second, were these people all active members of CareerBuilder? If so, doesn’t that skew the findings? Active members of CareerBuilder are much more likely to be looking for a job, right? Especially ones that are active enough to respond to this survey in the two weeks it was run.

Based on the candidates I come across everyday and my own experience and knowledge of their job searching activities, I personally find these statistics hard to believe.

Working for a venture capital firm and recruiting for positions within rapidly growing, exciting, expansion-stage technology companies, I find that I get responses more often than I did when I was with an agency. But a good portion of those responses look a lot like this: “The company and the position are very intriguing, but I am very happy where I am, and am not looking to make a move.”

Furthermore, per John Hollon’s “Weekly Wrap” article on TLNT, the CareerBuilder survey data was used to conclude that “Passive candidates are not necessarily better than active candidates. If anything, they might be less ambitious.” The survey also concludes that passive candidates do not in fact exist, and that nearly every person is looking for a new opportunity at any given time.

I disagree. I run into passive candidates every single day, and these will always be the candidates I am more excited about — for a few reasons:

• We want candidates who are good at what they do. If you are good at what you do you are, in turn, respected by management and by your peers. If this is the case, it’s likely that you’re not actively looking to leave.
• If you are not actively looking to leave a good job now, chances are that you won’t be quick to leave the job we have for you, either. We are looking for candidates who will want to stay with the company long-term and provide an impact.
• Passive candidates are never candidates who were fired or laid off. While there are certainly many strong candidates out there who have been victims to lay-offs — I know it happens to good employees everyday — with a passive candidate, it is a complete non-issue.

So with all due respect to CareerBuiler, my personal findings working in the industry and regularly targeting passive candidates conclude that they do indeed exist. Also, I believe that far more than 26% of working Americans and Canadians are not actively looking for a job at this very moment.

I know I’m not…

In the first two posts in this series I wrote about why we love LinkedIn and what is so frustrating about LinkedIn. In this last post I will offer a few suggestions I have to solve some of these frustrations. Now, I know LinkedIn has many qualified people working for them and that they probably have reasons for doing things the way they do, but I also know a lot of people feel the way that I do and if we can just get them to listen, that would be a success.

I will say that since my last post LinkedIn has been very responsive and has been expressing concern that they have unhappy customers out there. I was impressed with all the action that they took, though I am just one customer. Regardless, I guess that notion alone means that they are indeed listening.

Here are the frustrations I had last week and some suggestions for possible improvements, if there are any:

No Consistency

This is one that the people at LinkedIn can’t do much about. I would suggest that the general public use LinkedIn more to their advantage. Even if you aren’t looking to make a career move, networking is never a bad thing. Get on LinkedIn and build your network!

Limits

I know why limits were put in place in 2003, when the idea was for LinkedIn to be used only to connect with colleagues and people who were already in your network. Well, it’s almost 10 years later and things have changed. LinkedIn is one of the best places for recruiters to find strong candidates. LinkedIn knows that, and they practically ask for it. With job postings, upgrade options to see 2^nd and 3^rd degree connections, job suggestions on every person’s page, and keyword searches. When are you ever going to need to search for someone you know with a keyword search? Shouldn’t you already know their name?

All I’m saying is, as a recruiter using LinkedIn daily, I will run out of my 3,000 connections this year. Also, the “I don’t know you” option needs to go. Network, people! If you really don’t want to connect, maybe LinkedIn should implement a “decline” button that does not count against you.

We should not be punished for trying to expand our network. Isn’t that what LinkedIn is all about?

Customer Service

This one is easy — have a customer service line available to the public. If you have people responding to instant messages, can’t they also answer phones?

I know that with an upgraded account, such as “LinkedIn Recruiter” you are assigned a Relationship Manager to work with you on any problems you have. But what about people with regular accounts? Just have more accessible customer service for them and the problem is solved.

Training

I’m not going to sugarcoat this — LinkedIn Recruiter is very expensive. Even some of the higher upgrades are breaking the bank, especially if you are a small company. If you are investing in this product and spending the time and money to implement it and learn how to use it, you should also get personalized, one-on-one (one trainer to one company) training.

There is a way to arrange for this, but I think it costs extra. Personalized training should be free and should be scheduled as soon as possible after you are live on the product. This way you can tell the trainer what you want to focus on and ask specific questions in real time, while they are still relevant. You also can wait to move on until the question is completely covered.

As I’ve said in my last two posts, we are very happy with LinkedIn and LinkedIn Recruiter. We wouldn’t (and couldn’t) trade it for the world. I wanted to write this series to address some issues I have seen and air some grievances, but I also realize that LinkedIn is a large company and used by millions of people — it may not be that easy to change.

In this post I will go through a sampling of the issues that our team (and I’m sure other teams) has with LinkedIn.

No Consistency

As recruiters, we rely on LinkedIn to find qualified candidates for the positions that need to be filled. Since we are on it all day, everyday, it’s easy for us to forget that there are a lot of people that don’t rely on LinkedIn like we do. Most people don’t log in daily (which is already difficult for me to fathom), but some people don’t even think to look at it weekly, especially if they aren’t on the market for a new position. Those are the candidates we want! LinkedIn is the best way to reach passive candidates, but if the candidate we want doesn’t look at our message for a month it doesn’t work that well.

Limits

LinkedIn limits the amount of connections you can make with one account to 3,000. I have been in the recruiting business for over two years and using LinkedIn exclusively for my sourcing for six months. I have 500 connections left before I run out, and I’ve really just started my career – what am I supposed to do after I reach the limit?

Additionally, LinkedIn locks you out if you get too many “I don’t know you” responses. First of all, why is there even an “I don’t know you” response? Hasn’t anyone learned the value of networking? Okay, you probably don’t know me, and maybe you aren’t interested in a new position, but what about next year? You will be looking at some point, and when that time comes my connection will come in handy.

Beyond that, the management at LinkedIn needs to realize that the way the product is used has changed drastically since it started in 2003. With the amount of people who are using the site and the resources they give you (job postings, keyword searching, etc.) they are asking for it to be used by recruiters. LinkedIn is also the best place to connect about job hunting on the candidate side. It has grown to be more than just a social networking site. The archaic rules in place to prevent people connecting with others they don’t know need to be lifted. The use has changed; the platform should change with it.

Customer Service

There is no inbound customer service phone number for LinkedIn. I repeat, NO phone number at all to reach customer service. Excuse me? What benefit does that offer? If I have a premium account and there is a billing problem I want to talk to someone now! Not connect via instant message or email. I want a live person to talk to. I am completely dumbfounded as to why they don’t have a number. When we were looking to get more information on the LinkedIn Recruiter platform at OpenView we sent in three inquiries to get more information. After no response for almost a week I started chatting (via instant message) with someone on the customer service team. I asked for a number to call and was told there was not one. The person then told me another inquiry would be submitted and I should be contacted soon. The next day, there was still no response, so I tried calling the corporate headquarters. After pressing 0 a few times and reaching no operator I started putting in random three or four digit numbers to reach someone on their extension. All that effort resulted in nothing. LinkedIn literally made it impossible for me to speak with someone on the phone. What kind of customer service tactic is that?

Training

After finally implementing LinkedIn Recruiter, our team wanted to take some training so we could learn how to use it in the most effective way. After signing up for three separate training sessions that are open to the public we found that we were not learning anything new and that they were essentially a waste of our time. About 30 people attended each training session via WebEx — all the other lines are put on mute and you have to communicate via chat to ask questions. This makes it very hard to ask a question and have it answered while it is still relevant. It is also almost impossible to ask a follow up question. At the end of the day we went through it on our own and used past experience working with LinkedIn Recruiter to make sure everyone was on the same page and using it the most effective way.

All in all, we are very happy with the LinkedIn Recruiter platform and LinkedIn, in general, is obviously a great product. I do think that LinkedIn could make some changes to improve the process and the customer experience, however. Tune next week for some suggestions – I’m talking to you LinkedIn!

So, we all know LinkedIn has a monopoly over the “strictly professional social networking” sites.

Others have tried to compete — FaceBook with its “BranchOut,” for example — and have subsequently failed. As of now, LinkedIn is the best (and only) way to reach those hard-to-find, passive candidates who we all desire — but at what cost?

We recently went through a transition with the LinkedIn resources we use here at OpenView Labs for our recruiting when we made the switch to “LinkedIn Recruiter” — the platform designed specifically for corporate recruiters to source, recruit, and track their efforts. This brought the OpenView Talent Team through a whole range of emotions, from elated to completely frustrated.

In this three-part series I will introduce why LinkedIn is so important to expansion-stage recruiters and why we love it. In the second installment, I will go into the things about LinkedIn that make me wish it was an animate object that I could shake some sense into. Finally, I will offer a few suggestions that might make our lives — and subsequently their business — just a little bit better. This will be a nail-biter, so be sure to tune in!

So…why do we love LinkedIn?

For starters, it’s impossible not to. As I mentioned above, LinkedIn allows us to connect and network with the candidates we would not find elsewhere: the passive candidates. LinkedIn has over 170 million members worldwide, 4 million new members are added each month (about 2 new members per second), they support 10 languages, and have over 6,000 corporate clients. As a recruiter, you can’t afford not using LinkedIn. Almost every professional at an expansion-stage company at least has a LinkedIn profile (whether they log on often is another story). With a basic account you can only see the name and profile of first and second-degree connections. You can also see the first name and last initial of 3^rd degree connections, but not their profile! This means you need to grow your network as large as you can to make sure you are connected to more first and second-degree connections.

Now, LinkedIn Recruiter is LinkedIn on steroids. It’s amazing. It opens up your search capabilities to all LinkedIn members regardless of your connection. You can also send Inmails (direct emails to the candidate) and organize your candidates into folders. Additionally, LinkedIn recently released a new add-in called “Talent Pipeline” which you can use to add candidates to specific “project” folders (for different roles) and update their status in the hiring process (i.e. phone interview, in person interview, etc.). You can add notes, tags, sources, resume attachments, and even candidates without a LinkedIn profile. All the other members of your team can see your activity. Essentially, it’s an ATS within the LinkedIn Recruiter platform. It is the perfect addition to a smaller recruiting team at an expansion-stage company.

LinkedIn Recruiter makes everything very easy to use and tailor to your processes. You customize the tags, sources, and statuses to ones that your team finds most useful.

However, neither LinkedIn alone nor LinkedIn Recruiter is perfect. We found that we did run into issues and overall frustrations with the product, itself. So stay tuned! More to come on that next week…

Is conflict always a bad thing? Should it automatically spark negativity?

I don’t think so. I think conflict, when approached in the right way, can be constructive and foster growth. This is particularly important in expansion-stage companies that need to sustain both motivation and high growth.

Here are a few reasons why I think conflict is good:

• Conflict drives change: Without conflict, nothing is ever questioned and nothing is ever changed. When there are different ideas within a group about the way something should be done, it will generally create some conflict. The good news is, after this conflict there will be resolution and the team will ultimately figure out the best way. Which brings me to my next point.
• Conflict helps create and implement best practices: Once conflict gets the ball rolling with change, you will eventually be able to reach a best practice through trial and error. You’ll then also have the ability to implement that best practice across your organization into other teams and other projects. Additionally, you might have a new member of the team who has been through this process in his or her past role, and is able to incorporate new best practices into your process.
• Conflict is healthy: No one is going to be happy in their position if they don’t speak up about something they don’t like. Even if nothing is changed, at the very least, they will be comforted by the fact that they voiced their concerns and, hopefully, they will understand more about why it is the way it is. Best case scenario – they drive change and the company moves forward.

No company can grow without new ideas. New ideas and processes will often create friction and conflict. Through that conflict, you will find a decision that is best for the company.

It’s also important to remember:

• Not to let the conflict get personal: Stay focused on the issue at hand.
• Not to take it personally, either: When someone doesn’t like the way you do something, don’t take offense or feel attacked. Talk it out until the issue is resolved.
• Not to take conflict home: Issues should be resolved as soon as possible. Try not to let it stew and become something more than it is.

Obviously, not all conflict is good conflict. But, when managed correctly and directed in the right way, it can have a huge impact in the company’s evolution. Also, if you are passionate enough about the company to stand up for what you think is right – you are a good person to have around.

Seriously though, the Boston Consulting Group performed a study determining the value of each HR function (you will need to sign up to their site in order to read the full article). In the study, recruiting came out on top with 3.5x the profit growth and a 2x the profit margin resulting in a 5.5x total improvement in relation to the function with the lowest impact — “managing an aging workforce”. The second highest — onboarding and retention — was a full 1.1x below, with a total improvement ranking of 4.4.

What does this mean for expansion-stage companies? Value your recruiters and invest in hiring a proper recruiting team (or, if you are in our portfolio, utilize the OpenView recruiting team)!

Recruiting is step #1 to growing a company.

A company needs employees (and great ones) to grow and gain revenue. Recruiters are responsible for going out into the world, finding that perfect candidate, and convincing them he or she wants and needs to work for our company. It’s no small feat — the best candidates often aren’t looking to make a move. We bring in qualified employees who become the strong, dedicated team that make up the backbone of the company. Without them you aren’t going to get very far.

Dr. Sullivan also makes a great point about employee branding. The BCG study listed it as a separate function when, in reality, employee branding is a huge part of what we do as recruiters. Recruiting teams are the face of the company to prospective candidates. We need to emulate the corporate culture and values and ensure that they are carried out. Without being able to effectively create a strong employee brand we would not be able to acquire strong talent. When you add employee branding to the recruiting impact you get a total impact almost 10x that of the function with the lowest impact. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me.

So what should you take away from this? A recruiting team is an essential part to any company, especially expansion-stage companies. OpenView Labs sees that value and invests in a full team of recruiters to consult with our portfolio companies. You should invest in a recruiting team, too!

Here are some tips to help you relax and keep work out of your mind while on vacay. I know vacation season is winding down with the summer ending and kids going back to school. If you have no plans for vacationing this fall/winter then save these tips for next summer!

Give plenty of notice

When you plan a big vacation you generally book it months in advance. Give your team and your management just as much notice. This way meetings and events that require your presence can be scheduled around the vacation. Also, try not to schedule your vacation during or around a big meeting or event that is already planned.

When it comes closer to your vacation, begin warning any other people who will be affected by your absence, e.g. clients and other colleagues. This way they can prepare to not hear from you or be able to reach you during that time.

Knowledge transfer

If someone else is going to need to cover for you when you are gone, take the time to fill them in on everything you are doing, how far along you are with any projects, and provide them with any contact information and documents they may need. Yes, they may do the same job and be perfectly capable, but play it safe and give them too much information. Make sure they will not have any questions while you are gone.

Leave as little work as possible

Work a little extra during the few weeks leading up to your vacation (don’t cram it all into the last day and stress yourself out too much). Make sure you complete as much as you can before you leave so that the time off will not set you back. Close all communications out and try to resolve all issues so you can start back up again with a clean slate and not an inbox full of problems that have grown.

Tell people you want to be unplugged

These days, too many people are taking “working vacations”. That’s not a vacation, it’s working from Jamaica. Make sure your colleagues know that you want to be disconnected and not to email you unless it’s absolutely necessary that you respond right away (obviously, you need to be available for emergency situations).

Take vacations! You are given vacation days for a reason, use them! If you don’t take breaks you will burn out and become less productive. If you worry about leaving your work behind – follow these tips to make sure you are covered. Enjoy!

So, what can you do to combat the “sitting disease” and live a healthier work life? I mean, we all know how it is – you need to sit in order to do your job. It’s hard to avoid. Do you need to go as far as installing the “Treadmill Desk” in order to avoid sudden and wrongful death?

Absolutely not. Here are a few ways to help combat “sitting disease” at much smaller cost and with less impact in your work.

Make an effort to move around

Get up and stretch, take a walk around the office, take a walk around the block, whatever works best for you. Get up and do something every hour. Taking five minutes away from your work every hour won’t hurt you. In fact, it may actually help your productivity. Set intervals and make sure you take them. Trust me, you will feel better throughout the day.

Take the stairs

Need to go to the bathroom? Is there one you can use on a different level? Use that one. Additionally, take the stairs whenever you need to go up or down a few floors — this little act will help you become healthier regardless.

Change your chair

Sitting on an exercise ball would help immensely. You’re not just sitting but you’re engaging your core and promoting better posture. If you’re worried about sitting on a ball, splurge on an exercise ball chair — although I’m not sure it would have quite as much benefit. I would also suggest keeping a regular chair as an option in case you find the action of stabilizing yourself distracting to your work.

Change your desk

This one is a bit costly, but still not as much as the treadmill. If your office/management permits them look into sit-to-stand desks. Adjustable desks allow you to sit or stand while you work and easily transition in between. These are great because you can stand until you become uncomfortable and vice-versa.

Help at home

While going to the gym after work will not solve the problem on it’s own, it will help just to avoid the couch. Now, I’m a culprit of this as well — you’ve had a long day at work, you’re tired, all you want to do is go home and unwind. This generally includes plopping yourself on the couch and reading a book or watching TV until it’s time for bed. Try to avoid that for a few more hours. Go for a walk, or even go out for a few drinks and stand at the bar.

We are all going to be victims of “sitting disease” in one way or another, but taking a few precautions could help with your health and your overall well-being.

Hiring costs like relocation, visa transfers, or requests to work remotely are never ideal, but if it’s a candidate who would be great in the position then, under the right circumstances, they are a small price to pay.

H1 Visas

For those who aren’t sure what I’m talking about, H1 Visas are work visas awarded to non-US citizens who have experience and knowledge to bring to a company in the US that “cannot” be found in a candidate who is a citizen. That being said, they sound more difficult to obtain than they are. Obviously, companies don’t need to interview everyone in the United States before hiring an H1 candidate. They just need to put forth a “reasonable effort” to find a US candidate before moving forward with an H1 candidate. They also need to pay the H1 candidate as they would pay the US candidate. After the application fee and legal fees, the total cost to sponsor an H1 visa is a few thousand at most (depending on what your legal fees are; the application fee is a few hundred). The visa is good for 3 years. In the grand scheme of things, that is not a lot to spend on the right candidate.

However, it is much more likely that you are interviewing a candidate who is already working under an H1 visa. The process to transfer the visa is very simple and incurs an even lower cost.

Relocation

Relocation needs and requests are more common in senior-level searches where the market in your area is small and you are forced to look elsewhere for the right candidate. Companies are becoming more and more open to providing relocation assistance to candidates who will be moving themselves and their family to work for the company. Similar to H1 visas, in the grand scheme of things, spending an extra $10,000 on the perfect candidate now will go a long way when the candidate is bringing value-add to the company for years. Common large relocation expenses include: moving services for things and vehicles, family transportation (flights, etc), help with closing costs on the sale and purchase of homes or fees if a lease is broken, and temporary housing, if needed.

Remote Employees

Similar to relocation, if you cannot find a candidate in your area and need to look elsewhere, you will find candidates who are not willing to relocate. Depending on the position and the candidate, it may make sense to allow them to work remotely, either from home or in a remote office (i.e. Regus). When considering a remote employee option, you will want to make sure that the candidate will be successful. The best scenario is when the candidate has previously worked remotely and has references who can speak to their productivity. If the employee would be working from a home office, the monetary expenses would include phone and Internet line for business use along with travel to the office as needed. If you or the employee is uncomfortable with the home office set-up, there is the remote office option where you would rent space in an office building for the employee to work from every day.

Clearly the situation needs to be the right in order to consider these options, but you should keep an open mind and at least consider them. If it’s the perfect candidate, then it is worth the extra expenses since it will better the company and have a significant value-add in the long run. The important thing is to remain educated on the costs and benefits of these options.

Stress in the workplace is inevitable. Everyone should be feeling it at some level if they care at all about their career.

It can also be a good measure as to whether or not you have enough work to do. If you are feeling very little or no stress in the workplace, you most likely don’t have enough on your plate and you’re probably bored half the time.

Good stress can motivate you. You know you have something that needs to get done and you know when it is complete you will have a huge sense of accomplishment. There is also something about the right amount of stress that makes you feel valuable. If you are important enough to a project to feel stressed about it then that’s a good indicator you are an important asset to the team and, in turn, the company as a whole. In that light, stress can feel good — it adds an aspect of job satisfaction.

A healthy amount of stress can also keep you productive and on track. If you have enough work to stress you out then you also have less time to browse the Internet, shop, and check Facebook. Like I stated above, being stressed implies that you have an “end-goal” or a deadline, and that leaves little room for slacking off.

Now to the threshold — every person has one and you need to be sure you know where yours and your team’s lies. Too much stress can have a negative effect on productivity and motivation (just the opposite of the right amount of stress). Someone under too much stress may feel like a failure because they cannot get things done on time. They have too much on their plate and are essentially set up to fail. When you feel that way you need to be able to raise your hand and tell a manager or team member, so they can help take some of the stress off of you and get back to a healthy level.

There are also people who create their own stress in the workplace. They have capacity to get their work done (and done on time) but they tend to over-think and worry about it so much that it doubles their stress and it crosses the threshold. The key is for the manager to recognize when one of their team members has this tendency and to manage them a bit differently, maybe by giving them a little less work or offering to help more often. Obviously, this is implying that the person is still a strong contributor to the team.

Stress is a tricky thing to balance, but I know I prefer to feel slightly stressed than very bored. It keeps things exciting day to day!

This can be a bit of a controversial subject within HR and Recruiting, but it’s a question worth discussing. I recently read an article that supports my opinion on the matter, so I thought I would share my thoughts.

I know there are companies, like Google, that require transcripts from every applicant and will only hire candidates with top marks. But then there are other companies like Facebook and Apple that were started by (very smart) people who didn’t even finish school. So where is the line? If GPA does matter is it always important or only for certain roles?

My opinion: Bottom line, cumulative GPA should not matter at all.

I’m sorry, but the fact that I got a C (ok, maybe closer to a D) in Geology my freshman year does not indicate that I will not be good at my job in business. I purposely majored in International Business as opposed to another business major in part because it only required one science class instead of the usual two. If you are going to talk about GPA, talk about major GPA. That is where you learn the skills that you will take with you into your job.

Even then though – is academic performance an accurate representation to how well you will perform in your job? Again, I don’t think so. There are so many other factors that go into the college experience that it is hard to judge someone solely based on their grades. I always looked at college as four extra years to mature and learn something (even if outside the classroom) before going into the job market. Most importantly, to learn how to learn. With roles constantly changing, the right candidate will be able to adjust and learn new skills on the job that are not acquired in the classroom. Maybe this candidate also had a part time job, played a sport, or was involved in other extracurricular activities that took away from their studies but gave them other attributes that are very useful in the “real world”. For instance, I know someone who played college basketball, was the president of his fraternity, and yet scored just average grades. He is now working for one of the “best companies to work for” in the country and doing very well in his role. If they were only looking for “top performers” grade-wise, he would never have been hired.

It’s all relative. There are obviously careers that are very analytical or require extensive knowledge, e.g., the medical field. But in general, if GPA needs to be a part of your search it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. There is so much more to a candidate than that.

Of course there are the normal (and costly ones) like healthcare, dental, vacation days, and bonuses. However, not all benefits need to cost your company a ton of money, and these six low cost/free benefits may just put you a step ahead of your competition in the quest for top talent — and help you with your talent retention once they’re on board.

Consider adding one (or a few) of these employee perks to your benefits package:

Discounted gym memberships

In most areas this should cost you nothing. There are generally plans available that will offer a “corporate discount” if you have a certain number of people who sign up. I know that one gym in Boston takes $20 off of the monthly cost if you have a group of five or more from your company. The membership is still paid by the employee but you can boast that your benefits include a discounted gym membership.

Bring your pet to work day

Okay, so this isn’t right for every office, but if you have a smaller environment of pet lovers, try letting them bring their dog in every other Friday. Sure, it may slow productivity, but Fridays are generally slow regardless, and who’s not happier around a few pups??

Casual dress

This one obviously depends on your industry and type of work, but if your employees are mainly in the office then let them wear jeans! At the very least, have casual Fridays. Especially us “Millennials” – we like to be comfortable and if jeans will make us work harder, let it happen. Also, a good way to improve productivity is to have a contest that allows for jeans on Friday if you reach a certain goal.

A Nap Room

You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. There was a study done that proves a 10 minute nap at the right time of the day (between 1pm and 3pm) boosts productivity astronomically. Just stick a La-Z-Boy into a small, never-used conference room and there you go — a benefit every employee will take advantage of at some point.

Summer Hours

Okay, so maybe this one isn’t “free,” but who is over-productive between 3:00 and 5:00 on a Friday afternoon during summer? Summers tend to have a lower work load, so give your employees two extra hours to their weekend Memorial Day through Labor Day and they will make it up to you the rest of the year. Those few hours go a long way.

Open vacation policy

This is big one. It may even actually cost the company less, but it is seen as a huge perk to employees. Not having to worry about taking vacation or a family emergency is a huge weight that’s lifted. Also, it has been found that companies with open vacation policies have a better work environment. It gives the employees control and allows them to make adult decisions and work at their on pace.

So there are a few examples of low cost benefits. There are so many more options so get creative. Take advantage and your employees will thank you for it with hard work and positive attitudes!

Obviously, only you can guarantee you make it to the next steps, but if you’ve already done a great job in the interview there are a few extra steps you should take to make sure you get the call back.

Leave on a good note

Make sure you leave your interviewers with a positive thought of you. Say something like, “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. After speaking with you further about the position and the company I believe that my previous experience building product management teams will be an asset to your company.”

Keep your game face on

Don’t immediately check your phone or change into flip flops the second you walk out the door. Especially in an office building where you still may run into people in the elevator or lobby. Maintain your professional demeanor until you are out of the building and in your car.

Send a thank you note

I can’t stress this enough! If you need tips on writing one, I wrote a blog on Thank You Note Writing 101 that you can reference. There is no reason not to send a follow up thank you — it’s very quick and easy and makes a world of a difference. It will keep you from slipping the interviewer’s mind, and it allows you to accentuate your value that you plan on bringing to the team while addressing any shortcomings. I have worked with hiring managers who will not consider candidates further if they don’t send a follow up.

Have references ready

If you are searching for a position you should have already identified two or three references and contacted them all to 1) Ensure they will give you a reference and 2) Warn them that you are looking for positions and that they may be getting a few calls. This will speed up the process greatly; if you are asked for your references and can’t deliver them for a week it will reflect poorly on your organizational skills.

Follow up, but don’t stalk:

If you interviewed last week and are wondering what your status is, send ONE (I repeat ONE) follow up to the hiring manager, recruiter, or HR manager (whoever is most relevant). They will most likely respond with an update, possibly not right away though. Just be sure not to stalk them, it will only make things worse. Once is enough and if you don’t get a response then cut your losses and move on. You never know, though – you may hear good news weeks later!

So there you have it — the final installment of my interview tips trilogy. With so many elements of an interview process out of your control, make sure you take care of the elements that you can control. You don’t want to regret not doing everything in your power to improve your candidacy.

Here are some interview tips on what information to get and where to find that information:

Location

This one is straight forward, but make sure you look up the address of the company or find it in the interview confirmation. Look up directions, and if you are unsure, go on a trial run to find the office the day before. Pay attention to any special instructions or suite/floor numbers. The last thing you want is to be walking aimlessly through the building trying to figure out what floor OpenView Venture Partners is on. If you are prepared for your commute, you will be more focused and relaxed when you arrive for your interview.

Know the job

Again, a bit straightforward. Read the job description thoroughly and be prepared to relate your experience to the responsibilities. Also, make sure you are ready to address any skills that you may be lacking for the role.

Know what the company does

Go to the company website and look around. Almost all websites have an “About” page. Find out their core competency, the industry or customers they target, and look into their products and services. Also, it would be helpful to look into the history of the company, when they were founded and what gap in the market they were looking to fill. Try to find out how they came up with the idea for their company. Did the founders work together before starting the company, or was it one person that founded the company?

Know who you’re meeting, and who you’re not

If you are given an interview itinerary, look up each person. Almost everyone has a LinkedIn profile, so that would be a great place to start. Find out where they have worked in the past and try to find a connection or something you can relate to. If you are able to bring that up, it’s a great way to break the ice. Additionally, look at the backgrounds of the executive team, even if you are not meeting them. You will find it helpful to know where they came from, if they have worked together before, etc. Lastly, look up anyone who would be on your team or works in the same role you are interviewing for. Regardless of whether or not you are meeting them, knowing their backgrounds will be very helpful.

Know the news

First, google the company and find any recent news (good or bad). It’s great to bring up any good news when asked what you know about the company — it shows you’ve done your research. Another great place to look is the company’s website. They often have a news page that links to all the recent articles about the company.

Go into every interview (phone or in person) prepared. Knowing about the company and the team shows that you are truly interested in the company and the position you are interviewing for. It gives a great impression and increases your chances in landing the role.

I am a 24 year-old who was born and raised in New England, where the schooling is known to be more rigorous, life moves a little faster, and professionals work longer hours. I started working a few weeks after graduation in 2010. My friends are all “twenty-something’s,”as are most of my co-workers, along with some of the candidates I work with. The article in question is by a founder of a company in Miami.

Her List:

We’re Cocky: This is the common debate – cocky or confident? You call it cocky, we call it confident. We want to show our employers that we can get the job done and need little direction, but of course we’ll take it when we need it. As for talking back and speaking to others in a condescending manner; maybe you should re-think who you hired?

We take things for granted: Most of the millennials I know were excited to get their entry-level job out of college, and they work hard every day to prove themselves.

We don’t follow through: I’m a bit worried about your hiring process if your employees can’t complete tasks. The millennials I know won’t finish the task the next day — they’ll stay late until it’s done. Our main goal is to further our career — why wouldn’t we complete our responsibility? 

We don’t want to pay our dues: In my experience “twenty-something’s” have been very hard-working and hungry for success. Does that mean we don’t want to “pay our dues”? Absolutely not.

Now, I do believe that this employer has these problems. However, I do not think it is the age of the employees but the employees, themselves, who are to blame. Just as I believe the writer (and anyone else making generational generalities) is basing her judgment off of a small sample size, I know I am as well. Every generation contains people who feel entitled even though they haven’t proven themselves. This is why a well-trained recruiting team is essential for a company to hire the right employee for the job.

The one thing I do know: If I see a resume that doesn’t get to the point or is all over the place, chances are I will pass on it. We have so many resumes to look at, and if I can’t understand your resume I’m not going to spend an hour trying to figure it out.

Clean It Up

• Do not provide a long description of all your experience and then also list your positions separately at the bottom. Separate your experience into the positions you have worked.
• Do not ramble about each position — it will most likely get repetitive. There is a fine line and absolutely such a thing as too much information.
• The one-page resume rule may go out the window once you are looking for your third or fourth position — if you cut it down to one page we will not get nearly enough information about your positions — but, that said, don’t go overboard. Five-page resumes are a bit excessive.
• Do not list every single technology you have heard of. If you are in IT and have technical skills, list the ones you have hands-on experience with and would be comfortable utilizing daily in your next position. Also, organize them. List development languages, operation systems, CRMs, databases, etc. separately so that a non-technical person (HR) can find them easily.
• Do not use tables, especially with the borders visible. You may think it is a great way to organize your resume, but in reality it looks too busy and not clean.
• Make sure your document will translate well to other computers and other software. I have opened resumes that are all of a sudden written with wingdings, or the text is overlapping. Those get thrown out. If you’re not sure, send it to a friend and have them try to open it.
• Use spaces! There is no reason to have all your positions and lines jumbled together, space them out and make it easy to navigate.
• Use bullets. If you resume is a novel with paragraphs I will not read it.

Keeping your resume clean and easy to navigate is the key to getting noticed. I am sure that strong candidates are passed on because of the ridiculous formatting on their resume. Keep it simple while still adding the important details.

With an influx of candidates coming from inbound applications, outbound sourcing, and referrals which avenue provides the best candidates?

Unquestionably, number one is referrals. If a person is willing to put their name on your candidacy it says a lot about you as an employee and as a person. Generally, candidates are referred by a mutual acquaintance, someone who the recruiter is familiar with and can trust. I have never turned down a chance to interview a referral for a potential position. All the more reason to build your network and maintain great relationships with former employers and colleagues — you never know when they could come in handy.

The second best channel is outbound sourcing. It just makes sense, we saw your resume, profile, or website and we think you will be a fit. Yes, sometimes the recruiter is wrong, or your profile doesn’t go deep enough into your experience for us to be sure, but there was something about you that we think would be a fit, and there’s a good chance we are right. The downfall to this is that you may not be looking for a new job or interested in the position, which does make outbound sourcing frustrating sometimes.

Lastly, there are inbound resumes. Don’t get me wrong, if you are a fit for the position, please apply! Some of the best candidates come from inbound resumes, but that is rare. Recruiters look at every single resume that comes in, and for certain positions we get a flood of applications. The majority of inbound applications are not even closely related to the position. Some are similar, but if the applicant thoroughly read the job description he would see that he doesn’t have the experience we are looking for. Then there is the small amount of applicants who are right for the role. Please read the job descriptions and make sure it is a match for your background before hitting “apply”.

So what is the moral of the story? Maintain relationships! While we consider each and every candidate, referrals have a special place in our hearts and we love getting them.  The bigger your network the more opportunities you could have. If a friend or former colleague hears of an opportunity that would be a match for you and knows you’re looking, they will most likely refer you.

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.com

It’s a good idea to give negative feedback sparingly. Of course, when someone is repeatedly doing something wrong then it is imperative that you tell him or her. Let me emphasize the word repeatedly. If it happens once it may be a mistake. Mention it but don’t worry about having a sit-down chat about it. The conversation also does not necessarily need to be made public — that will only embarrass the employee and frighten everyone else. The one situation where it may make sense to “call the employee out” is if the feedback would be valuable to other employees. In that case you can call them out, but there’s no need to berate them. The purpose of negative feedback is to correct something that is wrong and help the employee improve. It is not to make them cry and start looking for a new job because they think they are terrible at what they do. It’s a fine line and sometimes it’s hard not to cross it.

As for positive feedback, there are some managers out there who never give positive feedback. They think that if it’s not constructive criticism it doesn’t matter. That’s not true — when an employee does something really well they should be recognized for it. It’s beneficial to provide positive feedback to the entire team or office; even the least-competitive person will see that and want to strive for it. Everyone wants recognition and wants to know that they are doing a good job. Sharing positive feedback will encourage others to be better. That said, don’t send out an “ata boy” for just anything — sending out a really well-written email, for example. Recognition should be saved for when an employee goes above and beyond their duties, or when he or she does an exceptionally good job on a particular project. If you throw a party every time someone does their job right, employees will be less motivated to try a bit harder.

Handling feedback can be tricky, the best thing you can do is be conscious of the feedback you’re giving and who you are giving it to. Before you say anything negative, take a step back. After the heat of the moment dies down, is it really a big deal? Is it worth saying something, or saying it publically? For employees, recognition from a manager (positive or negative) is a big deal, so make sure you think about whether or not it’s important.

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So you’re on the phone with a recruiter and things are going well. You seem to be a great match for the position and you like what you hear about the company. Then BAM! They hit you with the “tough question” — the one you have been avoiding. You all know what I’m talking about — the kind of question that makes you feel uncomfortable and exposed. You’re not sure what to say or how to answer. It usually involves salary and benefits, reasons for leaving past companies, or why there are gaps in your employment.

There is no way of getting around this type of question, so always be honest! Some companies will require a W2 to prove what you are making, so do not fib on your salary. As for your reason for leaving, recruiters and/or hiring managers will do reference checks and will find out the truth. Even if the real story isn’t that bad, lying about it in the first place will reflect poorly on your integrity. You will probably be ruled out as a result.

Here are some examples of tough questions and how best to respond:

Salary: I don’t understand why people want to keep their salary a big secret. Sure, you may have been told not to talk about it when you were younger, or even throughout your career, but when speaking with a recruiter or hiring manager, we need to know — for good reason.

• We want to make sure that you are within the salary range and that it would make sense to move forward. It would be a huge waste of your time if you went through the entire process only to find out that you are making $200,000 and the budget for the position you are interviewing for is $150,000. If we had known that up front we would not have moved forward, and everyone would have been saved wasted time and effort.
• Don’t be shy about it, we are not here to judge you or tell all our friends what you are making, if you are embarrassed about what you make and think you are underpaid, tell us what you are making and what you are looking for. We will not try to low-ball you just because you are currently underpaid.

Reason for leaving: Be upfront about this and tell us what really happened.

• If you were laid off for suspicious activity, yes, we will probably cut you loose; but why waste your own time interviewing only to have us to find out eventually via a background check?
• If you left because you didn’t get along with your manager, mention that and go into detail. That way, you can find out whether the manager for the new role has the same style, which may mean the position doesn’t make sense for you.
• Again, we are not here to judge. We speak with so many people that we’ve heard it all. We just want you to be honest with us so there are no surprises down the line.

Gaps in the resume: We will address these in our conversation. It plays hand-in-hand with reasons for leaving.

• If you have a 6 month gap because you were laid off in a tough economy and had trouble finding a new job, that’s fine! We live in the same country and deal with the same economy; we know how hard it can be some times. It’s when that gap moves closer to 1 year+ that we start to wonder if you were really trying.
• Take time off to have a child? That’s 100% acceptable and we will not penalize you for that!

So what is moral of the story? Just answer the questions — don’t dance around them or avoid them, and don’t refuse to answer. It does you no good because these questions will need to be answered eventually. You might as well get it out of the way in the early stages.

Editor’s Note: For more advice on interviewing, the hiring process, and much more , sign up for the OpenView newsletter.

Image Credit: Best Sample Resume

So I bet your thinking, “Wow – this girl is going to tell me it’s ok to lie on my resume.” Well…Gotcha! It is never OK to lie on your resume, whether intentionally or not. Many of you have already heard the story of how Yahoo’s former CEO was forced to resign because of a fib on his resume. He pretended to have a duel-degree as opposed to a single degree. In the end, he lost the job over something that probably made little or no difference in actually getting the job.

A resume is a snapshot of your career and an employer’s first impression of you; pay careful attention to it, read through it multiple times, and ensure all the information you’ve provided is accurate and can be backed up.

Here are six important things to make sure you get right on your resume:

• Dates: Have you finished at your last job? Does it still say ” – Present”? If so, change it. Did you have a month break once while looking for a job, and are you tempted to fib in order to eliminate the break? Don’t. There are background checks and reference checks and recruiters will discover the truth.
• Title: Want to give yourself a promotion? Too bad, because you can’t. Don’t add Senior or Lead or Manager if it’s not true. Also, be mindful that just because you were the person with the longest tenure on a team, that doesn’t necessarily make you the “Senior” person or leader; time doesn’t create seniority, qualifications do. If you misstate your title you might be called for a position you aren’t qualified for.
• Degrees: One credit shy? Do not indicate that you have a degree. You can explain that you were one credit or one class shy of a degree to show that you have the education, but listing “Bachelor’s in Computer Science” would be a lie. If the employer asks for your transcript you will be in trouble.
• GPA: If it’s bad, don’t list it. There is no reason to give yourself at 1.0 increase just because you think it will help. On a 4.0 scale it is generally only beneficial to list your GPA if it is above a 3.7.
• References: Some people like to put reference “quotes” on their resume. They are already unnecessary, so don’t make them up. Recruiters will most likely call that person who gave you the reference that you quoted.
• Contact Information: Now this one is simple; make sure your phone number and email address are correct. Otherwise, you will never hear from back because recruiters won’t be able to reach you.

It’s not worth lying on your resume. The chances of a lie getting you the job are not very likely — the interview process will weed you out if you are truly not a fit. If you’re caught the repercussions will be severe, so stick to the truth and get a job you are actually qualified for.

Editor’s note: For more recruiting and hiring tips sign up for the OpenView newsletter.

Image Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you are in the interview process for a position, whether it’s directly with the company you’ve applied to or through a recruiter, it is analogous to being in a relationship. There are different stages, and with each stage you become more invested and the relationship gets deeper. As the relationship gets deeper it may become harder and harder to break it off. But the fact of the matter is, if you are not interested just tell us! We will understand and will be grateful that we can move on to someone else.

Below I’ve broken down the interview process into four stages, and reiterate how in each case it’s always better to say something and stop the process than to let it go on if you’re not truly interested.

• The Courting: We saw your resume or profile online and we want you. We think you would be a great fit for the job and will do anything in our power to get in touch with you and get you interested.
• Not Interested? – Don’t like the job description? Not looking? Just let us know, we will stop bothering you, I promise.
• The Honeymoon Period: You responded! We are elated and set up a conversation with you. We can’t wait — we want to tell you all about the position and we hope you think it’s a great fit like we do. So we chat on the phone and tell you all about the company and the role. We ask about your experience and it’s a match — we couldn’t be happier!
• Don’t like what you hear? Maybe it’s an individual contributor role and you were hoping for management, or maybe the salary is slightly lower than you were hoping for. Say something! Don’t let the interview process go any further — you will be wasting everyone’s time and resources, including yours.
• Mature Relationship: Things are going well. You are on site interviewing and we think you may be the one. We are thinking about proposing soon…
• Love someone else? Do you want to stay at your current company? Is there another position that seems more enticing that you think you would be happier in? Again, say something to us. It will hurt and we may be upset, but we can move on and offer the position to someone else who would be happy with us. Don’t let us take the plunge if you don’t think you will say yes.
• Engagement: We have decided you are the one. We get down on one knee and offer you the position. And your response is…
• Is it no? Have you had a change of heart? Did you get a better offer? Fine, but say something! Do not go dark – you owe it to the people who spent time and money wooing you to tell them you are not taking the offer and explain why. It is the professional thing to do, and honestly, it should only get this far in extenuating circumstances.

The moral of the story: It is ok to break up with a company or a recruiter. Just do it the honest (professional) way, and do it as soon as you know it’s not going to work out. Don’t string us along with false hope and break our hearts down the line. The worst thing you can do is disappear. It may be easier for you, but it’s disrespectful and unprofessional. You will ruin your chances of ever working for that company or any other company we recruit for in the future. Saving yourself one awkward conversation is not worth burning those bridges.

Editor’s Note: To get more great tips on improving your recruiting and interviewing process, sign up for the OpenView newsletter.

Image Credit: Ninja Quest

Every company has their own way of naming positions — an “Inside Sales Representative” at company X may actually serve the same role as “Business Development Representative” at company Y, or even “Account Manager” at company Z. If you apply without reading the job description, your background may not be a fit, and your resume will be looked over. It also says to the recruiter or HR that you did not take the time to read the job description and (if they remember) they may not see you as a viable candidate in the future.

Tips for Getting Past the Title

• Do research: Find out what people in your position are called at other companies. Make a list of titles that may match up with your skills.
• Search by keywords instead of titles: If you are searching for a position on Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. search using the keyword function and put in skills that you have and are looking to use in your next position (e.g., java and software development). This way you are given positions that require those skills but may have a completely different title.
• Read the entire job description: Make sure you have all the “must haves” listed and pay attention to the “nice to haves”. If you have experience with a skill that is listed as a “plus” it will be to your advantage to point it out.
• Tailor your resume: This is especially important if your title does not match up with that of the position you are applying for. Make sure your current responsibilities and those listed for the job do in fact match up. Also, this is where you should highlight any “nice-to-have” skills that you possess. If you are sending a cover letter, be sure to accentuate why you are a fit for the position in there, as well.

When searching for a position, the job title can only take you so far. There comes a point when you have to start ignoring it all together and focus on the responsibilities and requirements of the position. I have seen companies that call their software developers “Ninjas”. If they begin looking for a job they will be hard-pressed to find another “Ninja” position that matches their background. Be cautious of what you apply for and don’t rely solely on the title.