EPIC Talent Consulting Blog Posts

Speaking with so many of you, I observe varying intel levels on how to best gain applicant attention, and convert that over to the hiring of qualified, happy workers - who stay on board at the company. Not every HR People Person I speak with feels they pull this off as well as they’d like to. And, that is okay, it is learned by experience. And, by making Changes. Enter … ME … this is my cup of tea, my type of jam, my natural forte … More than most because this is My Mission. Helping companies figure out their Recruitment Outreach Audience and the best ways to actually connect - no matter what that strategy should be or presently is. Seeking workforce is so much like throwing a party. Setting the Party Stage like a good party host, we’ll cover the how-to’s in steps, because it does require a chunky checklist. And, Step #1 is the Mighty Job Post. Homework until next time: How well do you feel you understand what applicant behavior, to narrow that down to a good applicant target audience? And, how would you present a successful job description to them, based on that?

Who here has ever thrown a party, especially a party at their home? Raise of hands. Your guests? How did you get them there? What did do/what did you tell them, to make them want to attend? What preparations did you make before they arrived? Did you vacuum? Get nice snacks and drinks? Maybe clean the bathroom up and spray air freshener LOL. And, what made them want to stay at the party? Or, prompted them to leave early? Hosting “Work” is very much like hosting a “Party.” You want people to come, want them to attend. They expect a good environment for attending. And, you’d prefer they stayed, unless they were an errant party guest who we all feel would better off leaving (note: how did the errant guest get there in the first place?). How in the world to do this? Got to put Best Foots forward (yes, I said foots). Next time, how to get those foots moving. 

A little bit about me: I’ve always thought that I could do absolutely anything. Period. I know a lot of people who also feel that way, and some who sort of feel that way … and some not. I'm here to share that "we" can do most anything, and definitely by helping each other and working together. Yes, our topic will now wind around “Ways we do things, to get things done right.” The vast majority of us have RTO’d, with good benefit from RTO (like environmental ambiance and social interaction). People have come back together by and large.. Big kudos to all you HR professionals, because you’re holding things together while still balancing challenges that are as tricky as Jello on a toothpick. Last I heard, there are 55% more job openings than there are unemployed workers to fill them (according to DoL). This means a tight labor market persists, with longer times to complete hires, and up against skill shortages. It’s more important than ever to understand the Current Labor Market and how to be successful slogging through it towards happy hiring. How do you move forward successfully against these challenges? I’ve distilled this concept down to one important age-old question, with input to help you gain on your challenges … a question that sheds light on all universal knowledge of understanding in the Recruitment World. That question is: How do you throw a party? Wow! Please think on that and we’ll blog talk more shortly. Thanks.

I’m feeling pretty recruitment-y energized, relating Recruitment Truths of Life with you! I know some of the concepts (and definitely some of my analogies) can be a little out there, but it’s much more fun explaining things in my way than saying: Place Peg 1 into Slot 1; Place Peg 2 into Slot 2. Stand on top and hope it holds under your weight while you twirl in a circle. Call for help when it doesn’t. I’m keeping you on my eBlog list, hope you don’t mind. I started this eBlog project because I care about my clients’ needs for trusted advice. When it comes to recruitment outreach strategies, I won’t deny that I am an advisor, a consultant, a safari guide, and I’m truly happy to be helpful. Next month we’re moving on to another focus Great Marketing Thoughts That Matter. We’ll start it off with a popular burning question: Is This the Way You’d Throw a Party? I’m sure you can’t wait!

IT’S A KNOWN FACT: In our own garages, we all have construction tools we’re not 100% sure how to operate properly. Same thing when it comes to recruitment platforms. Do you truly understand how your Recruitment Tools work? The advancing capabilities of recruitment platforms as “Tools,” considering the new technology they offer, is not a blip. It’s the reality of progress, it’s not going away. We all should be learning how things work. Understanding your outreach platform options (and how they function to your benefit) is vital to an enlightened hiring professional like yourself, and also for your workplace. Become someone who can evaluate with confidence what strategies you’re using for marketing your open job titles, as well as for marketing your company as a likeable workplace. The operating manuals for doing this are loaded into my mind (*that’s a clever movie reference - **points for knowing what movie it’s from). Tell me: What recruitment platform info would you like to know more about, or even share insight on?

“Applicant Audience Relativity.” Yours to be more specific. That means YOUR hiring audience goal. Are you hitting your job audience mark with your chosen outreach platform? What decisions did you make to arrive at that platform choice? This will be a quick bloggy thought today – so, put your thinking hat on: No matter what platform(s) you choose, isn’t it best to aim for a correctly-matched audience relevant to your job type? Great example: Would you invite sweet Sunday church ladies to a sassy, Saturday late-night blues bash out on the back deck? Uh, NOOOO … probably not (even though I know some very proper ladies who would enjoy that). Not the right audience, not the right end user. Moral of the Story: If you’re purchasing a recruitment strategy, it will work its best when targeted. Thank you. Next Time: Where do you find Relevance? For more conversation, feel free to contact me directly.

As you can imagine, like you, I receive a lot of recruitment email to both my Inbox and across my Social Media Feed. I fall into an “Audience Relevant” group … which is fine, I don’t mind seeing what other people’s take is on recruitment things. Today I turned the tables on myself, put my own self into analysis, and asked myself how I react to receiving their info? For me, the POSITIVE DIFFERENCE was two things: I will take note of things on 1. TOPICS THAT RELATE TO ME, and; 2. COMING FROM A KNOWN INFO SOURCE, A KNOWN COMPANY WITH KNOWN REPUTATION. YOU ARE PART of my Audience Relevant Outreach, which is what you also want to do with your own applicant outreach … relevance relates to “of interest.” Wikipedia says: Relevance is the concept of one topic being connected to another topic, in a way that makes it useful to consider. TODAY’s HOMEWORK: Take time to stop and smell the flowers of what Audience Relativity means to you.

Here’s the good news: If job posting gets done correctly, all your next steps will be easier and better (where you get to talk with good applicants and gracefully process them over to hiring status). Look at it this way: Good job posting is literally the “Bend and Snap” of recruitment outreach (a beloved movie reference, haha). What do you think a good job posting is about? I am going to tell you, but take a sec for your own answer. Right up top, start with a clear Job Title, then a short but thorough Job Overview (can include short ‘person must haves’ here), a few lines About Our Company, then Work Schedule / Compensation / Benefits (all WIIFT’s). Give some space, then can share bulleted long-form points about Duties, Qualifications, Education, Experience, anything else you are compelled to list. No worries about the length, except to make it at least 150 words, can be as many words as you need or want. FINAL LESSON: Applicants read up top first and if all seems good and relative and interesting they will read down to the bottom and apply. I’ve coined that an “engagement style job description.” So, quickly satisfy curiosity to keep them engaged, and the right applicants will follow through. Hence: The Bend and Snap! Next: All efforts should mesh.