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Archive for February, 2011

3 Must Try Mobile Apps for Recruiting

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Mobile technology has changed the way the world communicates and recruiting is no exception.  Over the past few years, Mobile Technology has advanced rapidly and now smartphones have made it even easier for people to connect and communicate with each other anytime, anywhere.

Mobile recruiting strategies are changing the way companies communicate with potential candidates in real time as soon as a position becomes available.  With over 4 billion mobile device subscribers worldwide, companies are implementing strategies such as direct text messaging campaigns, mobile career site optimization, mobile video campaigns and mobile application development.  The overall goal of these campaigns is to improve efficiency and productivity in order to deliver higher quality candidates on a timely basis. So as these mobile technologies evolve, we as recruiters must adapt accordingly or risk being left behind. 

While there are a lot of applications out there and many more popping up in various forms, I have found it to be over whelming trying to decide which ones to use.  Here are my three recommended mobile applications I currently use to be more effective and increase productivity from my mobile phone: 

LinkedIn Mobile:  LinkedIn has largely proven itself to be a valuable networking tool for recruiting because it provides access to over 85 million professionals worldwide, but LinkedIn mobile takes it to the next level.  Not only can you search for candidates, but you can find contact information, post jobs, as well as send and receive invitations and messages from the palm of your hand.  In recruiting, we all understand the value of timing and connecting with potential candidates quickly.  This application definitely gives recruiters a competitive advantage with utilizing LinkedIn’s database 24/7. 

AutoSearch Mobile:  This application is truly amazing!  AutoSearch Mobile searches the web using a filtering technology and returns hundreds of names, profiles and resumes instantly by searching sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Jobster, and ZoomInfo.  It gives aggregated access to prospective candidates in a one-stop shop eliminating the hours wasted searching through multiple sites.  This application helps eliminate the time spent trying multiple Boolean search strings until you uncover the right resume.  

Global Recruiting Roundtable Mobile:  This application provides quick access to top industry news and trends in order to stay ahead in your profession and help you advance in your career.  Currently, I have been subscribing to multiple blogs, industry articles and research sites to stay up to date on current events until I found this Global Recruiting Roundtable app. It provides top recruiting industry articles surrounding the topics of Employer Branding, Human Resources or Recruitment in one place.  One click makes it easy to share and post these articles on social networking sites instantly.

There are nearly hundreds of different types of mobile applications and technologies accessible on smartphones these days. Other mobile apps to site are: mobile access to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, individual company career sites such as CareerBuilder, Indeed and recruiting technology apps like HireSyndicate and Interviewer. There are many out there depending on your needs and purpose.  These are just a few that I found most effective for the work I do. 

What mobile technologies do you currently use in your recruiting strategy?  We look forward to hearing from you.

Posted in Human Capital, Mobile Recruiting, Talent Acquisition | 1 Comment »

Aberdeen Group Blog-Rethinking Recruiting in 2011

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

We welcome our guest blogger of the week, Mollie Lombardi, who is a Sr. Research Analyst within the Human Capital Management practice of Aberdeen Group.

Welcome to mid-February.  If, like me, you’re in the New England area, mid-February is a time of short daylight, freezing temperatures, and piles of crusty, dirty, leftover snow on every curb. The perfect backdrop against which to start to dream of innovation and reinvention! What’s next, how can we grow, where is the next opportunity, and when and how will we make it different than it was before?

In November and December of last year, I surveyed over 400 HR and line of business executives, who rated talent acquisition as the number one HCM element most critical to their organization’s ability to execute on its business strategy in the coming year. Clearly, innovation in how we recruit is a place we need to focus energy – to put good people back to work and to put the best team in place to support our businesses. So how are organizations going about innovating against this critical process?  We are a long way from the days of putting a sign in the window or a notice in the paper and holding interviews, but what SHOULD we be doing? Below are a few of the ways top companies are rethinking the recruiting process.

1 – Focus on building a quality candidate pipeline.  Aberdeen’s 2010 Talent Acquisition study found that “Proactively building and expanding a candidate pipeline regardless of current hiring needs” was the number one strategy. Treat the talent acquisition process like the sales or customer acquisition process.  Think marketing, branding, brand experience and outreach. Given the talent shortages already showing up in many industries, cultivating relationships long prior to a job offer can be critical.

2 – Understand your business.  Do you know what roles are critical to your company’s success?  Aberdeen’s 2011 HR Executive’s Agenda study showed that top performing 20% of companies are 53% more likely than all other companies to be able to identify the job roles that most directly impact revenue or profitability. It’s somewhat shocking to think that less than half (46%) of bottom performers have visibility into the roles that impact their bottom line. Without knowing what will impact your business, it’s hard to go find more of it.

3 – Be more agile.  As organizations cut back in recent years, not only did many slow or stop their hiring but they also dismantled their entire recruiting functions.  As they now look to grow again recruiters are looking to new tools to help them reach deeper into talent pools, such as social media, better sourcing tools to scour the digital world, and even contingent labor and RPO.  Recruiters have a tougher job than ever – filtering through more applicants for fewer openings, smaller budgets, and aggressive growth timelines.  If there were ever a time to be agile and innovative, this is it.

This topic is the focus one of the panel discussions taking place at the 2011 Aberdeen HCM Summit that my colleagues and I are hosting on March 9-10 in New York City, and it should be a lively one. So what are you doing to reinvent recruiting?  And what questions would you have for the panel?  I look forward to hearing from you – and if you need a shot in the arm from smart, driven, innovative and inspired colleagues this long and chilly winter, I hope to see you at the event.

Posted in Human Capital, RPO, Talent Acquisition | 1 Comment »

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