Why Your Recruiter Cant Find Good Talent

Why Your Recruiter Can’t Find Good Talent There’s no question the software industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and with it comes a need for top software talent. As a result, the recruitment industry has grown dramatically, and over time, has come to require more complicated tools (from the likes of LinkedIn and more) that make it easier to track down candidates. Yet this evolution has become a double-edged sword, as it has created an industry plagued by non-technical “headhunters” who rely on “spray and pray” techniques to find the needles in the haystacks. Sounds peachy right? Well, maybe not for one important side of this equation. Today’s technical talent is faced with a barrage of unsolicited, unpersonalized and poorly targeted emails that seems to be pissing them off. Some report up to  12 emails and voicemails a day, and others are even  contacted through their work phonesâ€" all by headhunters they have never talked to, and seemingly don’t even take the time to look at their CV. If  isn’t always as easy as it sounds I currently have no desk-phone in my current role. This is deliberate. I do not want to be cold-called by recruiters. And yet, that doesnt work. They continue to wheedle their way through our receptionist (being discreet) trying to get hold of me. Including one fishing for more information by pretending to have a package addressed to me that needs to be delivered at a specific unspecified time. This continual harrassment is the same as spam. Unsolicited commercial approach that only benefits the sender. And so in my eyes, these recruiters are no better than spammers. Just more annoying because they dont limit themselves to email. So while your company may be working with a recruiter, there’s a big question of whether they’re actually attracting or repelling the best talent, all while representing your company. There are however a few like Scott Ruthfield who do seem to get it, Any success weve had recruiting in Seattle has come from building long-term relationships with candidates and companies, doing deep technical and culture-fit dives, and listening closely, not just talking. The recruiters that seem to attract developers actually cultivate relationships, but they still need better technology because while today the divide between supply and demand is bad, tomorrow it will be worse. With such a lack of efficiency, it’s not hard to imagine that the recruiting industry could even be largely displaced by 2020 by more effective means. “Social recruiting” is a hot topic today, and many companies focus on media channels such as twitter, facebook, hackathons and blogging. Perhaps more potent is another strategy in this vein where companies reward their employees for actively recruiting talent to their company through their own social channels. The idea that you could pay $3k to an employee for finding that candidate rather than $30k to a recruiter is not lost on companies today, nor is it lost on a few startups actively  trying to create structure around this interaction. Not only is it more cost effective, it’s widely known that the best filter for candidates is existing developers, both for their technical and cultural analysis. The trend across the board appears to be that creating environments in which technical talent is actively engaged with the process. My prediction is that as the signal to noise ratio recruiters and developers face will worsen, and their relationship will continue to degrade unless the talent discovery and targeting software evolves to become more effective. Tomorrow’s recruiting industry will be run by fewer, more efficient recruiters with a personalized touch and technical background. Their discovery and targeting will be powered not through algorithms processing stale information from passive candidates, but by services that talent actively engages with to indicate interest in problem spaces and companies. As for the recruiters sullying your company’s good name and ticking off the talent? They’ll be long gone. Maybe then our developers’ inboxes and phones will finally be safe. Be sure to also check out  Social Media in Recruitment How Far is Too Far? Manny Medina is the CEO of  GroupTalent,  a platform that matches employers and developers.  Follow Manny on Twitter @GroupTalent. Image: Shutterstock

A Small Business Guide to Facebook Insights (INFOGRAPHIC) - Classy Career Girl

A Small Business’ Guide to Facebook Insights (INFOGRAPHIC) If you’re running a small business, then there’s a good chance that Facebook is one of your primary social media channels for engaging with your community. Not only is it a great way of communicating with your audience and advertising to find new leads, it also has a powerful analytical section. Facebook Insights can give you excellent, usable data on how your page is performing and who exactly your customers are. To give you a better idea of how it works, The Business Backer created this infographic with details about its most important functions. You can access Facebook Insights from the top menu bar when on your page. On the Overview page, you can see the highlights of your performance over the last week. This includes snapshots of Page Views, Post Engagements and Reach. You will also be able to access each of the important individual metrics that define your page’s success on the sidebar. This includes the Reach section where you can see how many people a post was seen by, and break this down into whether it reached them through paid or organic means. As well as giving you an insight into positive reactions such as Likes and Shares, it gives you data on negative actions, such as Hide Post, Report as Spam and Unlike, so you can find out what is turning your audience off. [RELATED: Facebook Ads: A Less Obtrusive Way of Sharing Your Product] You can also drill down into your Page Views to discover how popular different types of posts of yours are, as well as the best sources driving traffic to your page (i.e. paid or organic links from other websites to your Facebook page). The Actions on Page section allows you to see how your audience is engaging with your content and also gives you the ability to break your visitors down into different demographics, such as Age, Country and Device. As one of your main social media channels for getting in contact with your business’ community, your Facebook page is a vital tool. By using Facebook Insights properly, you can understand your audience more, tailor your posts better and make your Facebook page even more effective. A Small Business’ Guide to Facebook Insights

How to Be a Better Boss

How to Be a Better Boss Are you  a manager?   Do you ever feel like you are failing  to motivate  your team?   It is hard sometimes to be  the boss because you want people to like and  respect you, but  that doesnt come easy.   I know I sometimes get  frustrated because I am a perfectionist and I expect perfection from my team.   I have learned that you have to be patient and teach people how to improve, rather than just fix things yourself.   Here are more secrets to success  from Investors Business Daily  on how to be a better boss: Demand honest feedback: You want to know how you are doing and what you can improve on right? Set standards: Dont reward average workers. Tackle problems early and fast: Problems will only get worse if you dont. Hire slowly and hire well.   Go beneath the surface during interviews.   Dont ask the same interview questions over and over. Instead,  make your  future employees give a presentation.   Get to know them and how they work.   Let the whole team interview the employee and get buy in from everyone.   Dont be the only one making the final decision. Know the drill: On a scale of 1-10, managers who rank themselves a 7 tend to hire 5s.   Why?   Because  average supervisors are afraid of being shown up.   Top managers hire 10s and are not worried about being shown up.   BE A 10!! Circle back:   Set high expectations  and make sure you  circle back to see if goals  are met. How does your boss  keep you  motivated?

When Its Time To Move On Advice For Quitting

When It’s Time To Move On Advice For Quitting There are many reasons to quit your job. Maybe you’re unsatisfied, maybe you just want to go in a new career direction, or maybe you’ve decided to become a stay at home mom. Whatever your reason for quitting, there is a right way and a wrong way for doing it. If you’re not happy with your job or your career path, sticking with it can cause depression, irritability, and even problems in your relationships. It just makes sense to quit if you aren’t happy. So, if you’re thinking about leaving your job, for whatever reason, here are some tips to help you do it the right way. Always Give A Notice Even if your contract doesn’t require a notice of any kind, you should at least give a one week notice. Before you quit make sure you do look back at your contract or employee handbook and ensure that you don’t need to give a two week notice. Giving a notice, and sticking with that particular length of time will help you get a better reference from your job once you start looking for a replacement. If you leave on good terms you also might be welcome back if things change in the future. Don’t Talk About Quitting Until You Give Your Boss Your Notice It’s really just plain rude and disrespectful to tell other people you plan to quit before telling your boss. If you spend time gossiping around the office it’s likely he’ll find out before you tell him and then things could get awkward. Sure, you can talk about it at home. But definitely don’t post about your plans on social media. And, even after you give your notice, keep your job status out of social media until you have actually quit. And then, don’t say negative things about your former employer. Stay Motivated While You’re There Just because you only have a week or two left isn’t reason to start slacking. You want your boss to put in a good word for you in future endeavors, so you need to keep impressing him until the very end. Should You Have Another Job Lined Up First? If you’ve ever quit a job, or even thought of quitting, in your lifetime you’ve probably had someone tell you not to put in notice until you have another job lined up. In most cases that’s a good piece of advice, but it really varies per person and situation. Two great reasons to quit with no backup are if you plan to be a stay at home mom or if you are working on starting your own business. Also, if you feel threatened at your job quitting is a better idea than staying, but make sure you talk to the proper authorities as well. Not all jobs are right for everyone, and even if you loved your job in the beginning it doesn’t mean you have to love it forever. Don’t stay stuck in a job you hate, but make sure when you leave you leave on good terms so at the least you have a great reference!

Debut research reveals how UK students are paying for university - Debut

Debut research reveals how UK students are paying for university - Debut This is pretty intense. We recently conducted a UK-wide survey of university students to find out how theyve been coping with the rising costs of university. Worried about tuition fees rising and a too-small maintenance loan,  we wondered exactly what lengths students would go to for a better living standard. Here is a round-up of the most interesting statistics: The foundation of UK students financial sources No surprises here so far. When asked what students primary source of funding was, the usual student loans and the bank of mum and dad came up. Naturally, with reports saying that a maintenance loan is barely enough to cover the cheapest halls of accommodation, we thought to explore how students were supplementing their loan. The next series of statistics dives into this: UK students are primarily aiming for conventional part-time jobs Ah, bar work. A student part-time job classic that just keeps on giving. Retail is also a strong popular choice, with a whopping 73.68% of students willing to stack shelves. More dubious odd jobs such as stripping or escort work have come up. However these are at comparatively low percentages, and actual criminal activity seems pretty low on the list as well. (Phew). UK students maintain a fairly strong moral and legal  foundation There are some things, no matter how desperate the situation, that students just wont do. Cybercrime, theft and drug-dealing are considered pretty unacceptable for students all sitting below 5%.  Stripping, escort work, and gambling are slightly higher on the list, but not significant enough for us to warrant a student intervention, we dont think. However, a small percentage do know of people who have gone to extreme means to fund their studies Someone always knows someone whos done something a  little bit crazy.  This is evident in the findings: only 15.79% of students said they have seen absolutely no dubious activity in their student life. Thankfully, the ones who have seen or heard of fellow students conducting activities such as theft remains relatively low. We cant condone trying to obtain money through extreme means. However, times are hard, harder than ever. Who are we to judge? Feature Image ©  Unsplash Download the Debut app and you could totally grab yourself a summer internship  way before anyone else. Connect with Debut on Facebook and Twitter

Book review Love is the killer app - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review Love is the killer app - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog A killer app is an idea so good, that it simply has to spread. Something so necessary and basic, that you have to adopt it. And according to this book by Tim Sanders, Love is just that. I admire people who dare to use the word love in a business setting, and to stick it in the title of the book is down-right gutsy. Whats more, I agree completely. Love is a powerful force in all aspects of life, including business. Heres what Tim sanders believes you should do to become a lovecat, ie. someone who uses love for business success: 1: Learn and share your knowledge 2: Grow and share your network 3: Show compassion See a trend here? This is about giving. About sharing. About focusing on others instead of only on yourself. Tim Sanders shared some of these tips in an excellent article in Fast Company. As for learning, Tim Sanders recommends reading a lot of books, and sharing that knowledge. Whats important is that you should share not to get something back as in quid pro quo, but simply for the joy of sharing. And while this may seem naive in a business setting, he argues (and I agree 110%), that it IS good for business. This will build your personal brand, and give you lots of goodwill in many circles. As for reading books and sharing that knowledge, Im there, baby. Same thing for sharing networks. If you know two people who might benefit from knowing each other bring them together and get out of the way. Again without any expectation of reward og benefit. As for showing compassion in business, this means showing people that you like them. Words, gestures, appreciation or even hugs whatever you deem appropriate. Im convinced that what Sanders argues works that it is both more fun and better business sense than the greed-based philosophy espoused by the like of Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas character in the movie Wall Street). Theres something inherently healthy and powerful about working for something more than just your personal gain. This does not have to mean putting your own goals aside, quite the contrary. Doing something for others may often be the best and most fun way of achieving your own goals. This is how we work in the happy at work project. Were convinced, that the more we can give away, the more we can get back. We approach every project with an attitude of generosity and so far it has served us extremely well and has gotten us benefits we could never have achieced on our own. Not to mention immense personal and professional satisfaction :o) So why dont you try it: Become a lovecat theres room for many more. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Resume Writing Services - Vancouver BC

Resume Writing Services - Vancouver BCWhen it comes to resume writing services, Vancouver BC is the most impressive of all. With this list of prestigious cities, the next thing that people look into are those that can help you land that job interview. As you have likely guessed, all of the places mentioned here have come up on lists of the top places to get a job.The city offers you lots of choices in terms of businesses that can help you get your job. You will be able to find anything from catering services to private health and wellness centers. From accounting services to home based service providers, you will be sure to find what you need.Since these companies tend to charge for their services, you will want to make sure that you take your own money out of your own pocket. Some of the places also offer free consultations. This means that you can get any questions you may have answered right away.Since so many people are making the move towards this type of employment, you will be able to get a large amount of clients. What this means is that you will be able to have more competition in the business that you are working with. Your resume writing services can help you get your foot in the door so that you can see more work.Whether you are a student looking for some extra income or a single mom that needs a job, this is definitely the right place to be. There are many different businesses in the city that cater to this type of work. So no matter where you are from, you can find a great opportunity in Vancouver BC.Whatever type of business you are looking for, you will be able to find what you need with resume writing services. Getting the right type of business to work with will be the most important thing. After all, you do not want to waste your time and money working with a place that doesn't know what they are doing.With so many options available to you, you should have no problem finding the job you want to hire someone to do for you. Remember that there are plenty of people like you who are looking for this type of job. You just have to know where to look and then you will be able to get what you need.Resume writing services in Vancouver BC are a great place to get your resume written. Make sure that you take your time and make sure that you take your business somewhere you know that they can get you the work you need. You will be sure to find a business in this area that is going to fit your needs.