Promote Your Company from the Inside Out

Promote Your Company from the Inside Out

How can your company be an employer of choice?  Here are 7 ways that you promote your company from the inside out:

• Go for “best of lists” best company to work for, fastest growing, etc.  Make sure that you use these accreditations on your Intranet, company Facebook page, company LinkedIn page, and as an email signature.  This messaging should be well known to your employees so they can easily throw that little factoid out when they are explaining to their friends what they do and who they work for.
• At the end of each fiscal year put a short summary together that shows the number of people promoted and what % of your staff that is.  Track that year over year and announce the results and any goals associated with that.   Post this information on your Intranet and your career pages.  People like to know that employee development is important in your company and that they won’t just get stuck in a dead end job.
• Highlight your employees who have reached milestone anniversaries, post their story on the Intranet for employees to see and have something to look forward to. Consider more public options as well, so long as they are permission based.
• Have you had employees get recognized for awards in their field, published articles, or patents?  Make a big deal about that with your employees on the Intranet as well as on your career portal; that tells people that they will be recognized for their personal achievements and contributions.  If you can influence HR to offer a bonus for these types of achievements that would be even better.
• If your company offers salary or other benefits that are better than other companies in your industry, announce that.  Make it known that you research this information every year and that your goal is to stay xx above the average in order to attract and retain the best talent.  If it’s working, say so.  Your employees will remember that when a recruiter comes calling on them or when their friends ask them if your company pays well.
• Work with your sustainability or energy management department to get some stats on what your company is doing above and beyond to reduce your facilities and overall carbon footprint.  If it’s better than other employers in your industry and area, make sure to announce that to your employees.  A greater number of employees are concerned about sustainability and would prefer to work for a company who promotes sustainable practices.
• Get quotes from your employees on why they like working for you and use those quotes to form your branding messages. Make your employer-pitch as human and emotive as possible. The best messages from a marketing standpoint are ideally stories, not just quotes.

The bottom line is, if your employees are fed the branding messages consistently, your marketing can stick in their heads like that 5 dollar footlong commercial. If every employee in your company both understands the value of employment branding and knows “the pitch” by heart, your recruiting efforts will be easier. If your overall goal is to land the top talent in your market, it can’t just be you doing all the heavy lifting.  The whole company from the inside out needs to be on point and on message, but of course most importantly, be inspired to help follow your company vision and advance its image.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today" Abraham Lincoln

Homage to the Electrical Outlet

Homage to the Electrical Outlet

Many people can tell you who invented electricity and the light bulb, but I would wager most people do not know who invented the electrical outlet. Harvey Hubbell, a man nearly forgotten in history, that’s who. I would argue that Harvey’s invention is just as important as the light bulb because the electrical outlet made electricity available to the masses. In fact, the outlet paved the way for electricity to be the most overlooked commodity of the modern era. That’s right, the outlet. Without Harvey, how do you plug in a TV? Better yet without Harvey, what does the term “plug in” really mean?  How do you charge your iPAD? Think about it; the outlet powers your home. 

People most often think about what is behind the outlet; the electricity, and what is in front of the outlet; the thing being powered.  It’s the magical connection of electricity to the thing being powered that is truly amazing, and truly simple. 

What if you were to treat every day as if you are an outlet? What magical connections could you make come to life? As a marketer you have the ability to take the mundane, the everyday, and bring it to life in a magical way.  No, you aren’t making TVs, but you are making the connection between the TV and the consumer.  You make magic with your ideas, your words, your art.  Outlets seldom get the praise of a beautiful Christmas Tree, but the tree wouldn’t be lit without the outlet. 

You have the power to be an outlet. You have the power to bring electricity to an idea. You have the power. Cherish it.

Building a Personal Brand

Want to Reinvent the Hiring Process?

7 Trends to Reinvent Hiring

5 Awesome Tips to Optimize Your Job Search

5 Awesome Tips to Optimize Job Search

Hiring Managers are the X Factor

Hiring Managers are The X Factor

I have a secret that only those really, really close to me know; a secret that could impact my career, my hire-ability, my social life, etc.   I, like millions of Americans, am addicted reality TV.  My DVR is full of unwatched episodes of Project Runway, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, American Idol, ABDC (if you know this one you are an addict too), and yes, The X Factor. After watching the first few episodes of The X Factor is struck me as uniquely strange that two of the most influential talent scouts in the music business could have such polar views on the talent they were judging. I know in many cases this juxtaposition is created for drama and ratings, but with Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid we are looking at two intrinsic, very distinct views on talent. The more I watched the two of these talent giants argue it became clear that while both are great at what they do, they are both looking at talent (recruitment) in very different ways. As I often selfishly do, I turned this public display of differing opinion into an internal thought process about the various views of hiring managers in regard to talent and their similarities to the judges on The X Factor. 

Paula Abdul – I wanted to start with Paula because while she is often looked down upon for her flighty behavior, the persona she displays is one that often is mirrored in hiring managers. Sure, she may be a little out there, but when she see’s what she is looking for she isn’t afraid to stand up and shout about it. This CAN be a good thing, when hiring managers are excited about the caliber of a candidate. Hiring managers need to not only be evaluating the candidates; they need to be selling too.  This CAN also be a bad thing when hiring managers stand up and shout about it, metaphorically speaking, during the interview process. Unlike The X Factor, the prize  =from a real world interview isn’t pre-determined and written in a contract for all to review. If a hiring manager pulls a Paula you can bet the candidate will be empowered to make a more aggressive play during negotiations.  Smart candidates will know they have the upper hand, and will use it against you.  Unlike reality TV, there is no audience vote to throw a monkey wrench in the process.

Simon Cowell – Simon is a talent scout in the truest sense of the word.  He isn’t looking for polished performers who are ready to step into the spotlight day one.  Simon is looking for the real goods that come from deep inside a truly great performer, that no make up or dance moves will be able to enhance. Look at the two greatest Idols, Carey and Kelly, neither looked or acted the part when they won, but they had “it” inside and Simon knew it. Some hiring managers are really good at looking for the “it”, not the polish.  They look for things between the lines of the resume that they know will help the candidate be great.  They see talent as what it is, a special natural ability or aptitude, not a dog and pony show with a great resume.  These hiring managers make rogue decisions that seem to fly in the face of expectations, and more times than not they are right. 

L.A. Reid – L.A. on the other hand is a talent promoter. He doesn’t look for innate talent, he looks for polished show ready performers who will sell. He see’s someone that requires work and growth as not talented, instead of just un-developed. L.A. hires great talent, he makes people tons of money, and is no doubt amazing at what he does. It is just a different approach than his counterpart Simon. Hiring managers like L.A. want a candidate that checks off all the boxes from the job description on day 1. These managers expect their candidates to have the sizzle it takes to win them over right away. These managers are often times more impressed with the presentation than with the substance. Again, they see great talent and many times make the right hiring decision; they just go about it in a different way. 

Nicole Scherzinger - The fourth member of the cast, Nicole, is the current talent evaluating other talent. Often times hiring managers have risen through the ranks and are looking to hire people with a similar drive, skill set, background, etc.  Nicole’s experience makes her a good judge of what my sell today, like her albums, but her limited experience gives her the foresight to look long term at the talent in front of her. Many hiring managers are just looking to fill the job, like Nicole. The best hiring managers are looking to fill their own job, so they can move up!

So, which type of talent scout/hiring manager are you? Better yet, which of these mentalities best suits the needs of a hiring manager? I personally believe that matching the hiring manager and the job requirements to The X Factor persona that best fits will help to optimize the hiring process. Sometimes we may need to hire like L.A and find a Rock Star who has all the polish the world who can come in and make an impact right away. We, like L.A., are sometimes willing to trade attitude, ego, and expectations that come with the glitz for the short-term impact.  Other times, we MUST hire like Simon and look for the talent that is right there below the surface, just waiting to be discovered and developed.  And once we have identified that talent we must be committed to helping them develop and grow.  These are the folks whose passion, determination, and production is still untapped and who can grow exponentially given the right circumstance.  Look what Simon was able to do for all the Idol winners, but especially the biggest ones.  And yes, sometimes we do need to pull a Paula for a candidate or two to make sure we close the deal, and sometimes we need to be like Nicole and compare everyone we see to ourselves. The point is L.A. and Simon are both great at evaluating and hiring talent, but their requirements are very different.

Calling All Recruiters - Humaneness For the Under and Unemployed

A couple weeks ago I started attending a local jobs networking group at a church near my home in Frisco.  I am not sure why I felt compelled to show up, but I wanted to go see what it was all about.  I have to be honest, I think it was one of the best decisions I could have made for my own career.

It was weird, walking in to a room of people that are under or un-employed when not only do I have a job, I have a job helping other people get jobs.  The group didn't make me feel out of place but I could tell they were suspicious about my attendance.  I represented the person who they were emailing, calling, linking into.  I also represented in many ways a lot of no's, rejection emails, and unreturned phone calls.  Here are the reasons I think these meetings are going to prove to be a great thing for me personally and in my career.

1. In talking to these people I was taken back to some of my earliest days as a TPR and why I was better than most of my competition; I cared.  I can remember the calls with the people who were desperate for work, the people who needed help, the people who needed a voice.  I can remember placing a guy who had been out of work for 2 years.  I can remember his wife crying when I called to give her the good news.  I can remember the pride on his face when we walked with him to his first day of work.  He still has that job, has been promoted once, and is still one of my best success stories in recruiting.  Do you remember your best success story?  I hope it was more than the biggest placement fee you earned or the best sale you made.
2. Each of these people is more than the resume they use to represent themselves in their job searches.  They are people.  Each one is someones mom, dad, uncle, brother, friend, and neighbor.  Each of these people have mortgages, rent, car payments, and dinner to worry about.  Each of them is a person.  Have you lost site of who you are talking to on the other end of the phone?  Do you see resumes instead of faces?
3. These people want to work, and not just because they want a paycheck.  Most of the folks in my group were really good at what they did, and that makes it that much harder on them.   I have met a call center manager, an aviation stress test engineer, an M/E with 33 years of experience, a controller, a senior buyer, and a strategic planner.  I have met a helpdesk engineer, a mechanic, a financial planner, collections specialist, and a programmer.  While their skills haven't matched the jobs they have applied to recently, all of them are skilled.  Do you look for the skills in all the people you talk to?  Do you counsel the folks that might have an uphill battle or do you walk away?
4. What if it were me?  What if I were sitting there as a job seeker?  I would feel lucky to have a network of people all sharing in an experience that an outsider like myself can't fully understand.  I would feel blessed to have a group so committed to people "landing" their favorite times are donuts and saying goodbye to people that don't need the meetings anymore.  This group is self moderated by volunteers who keep up to date with job boards, movers and shakers in the industry, and members of the group.  They schedule speakers, industry leading speakers in social media, resume writing, career coaching, and interviewing.  In fact, some them know LinkedIn better than I do!  

So what is my point?  Simple! Please take a step back and remember these are people we are talking to.  Human beings.  Maybe it was you some day, maybe it was a family member, or maybe it is your neighbor.  Not everyone we speak to is in this boat, but 10% of Americans, maybe more, are.  Do you take the time on that 10% to help or do you move on?  Many of you have a voice, an influence, the power to help.  You all are experts at getting people jobs.  Help people get jobs.  Take a chance on a resume you may have normally passed over and see what you find.  Share your knowledge with the people who need it.  You have he power to rebuild self esteem, you have the power to teach, you have the power to champion people, you have the power to be humane to people who need it.

If you want to help my group, please share your own tips, tricks, and best practices that I can give to them.  Share with them heart warming stories of success that can inspire them to keep going.  Share with them your own humaneness in a tough time.  Share them with a comment, share them with an email to me, or come to the group and present if you are in the DFW area.  Please share with my group, and share with your networks as well.  

jcares Backpacks for Captain Hope's Kids

jcares Backpacks for Captain Hope's Kids, a set on Flickr.

www.captainhope.org/BTS2011

Captain Hope’s Kids has one goal in mind, to help those who cannot help themselves, children. Through the collection of donations, supplies and fundraisers, we intend to give homeless children their best chance at living a normal life. Javelin Marketing Group, @javelinmg was proud to donate 100 back packs to help the cause.

Social Media vs. Social Recruiting

An interesting topic I have been wrangling recently is the convergence of Corporate Social Media and Corporate Social Recruiting. While the two seem to align perfectly with each other, they are proving more and more difficult to sync up. One would think, at least this one person, that social recruiting and social media have the same end goal in mind, but the problem is aligning the social strategy to new talent and aligning the social strategy to new clients is very different. This can lead to a seemingly split personality online that can and will impact the brand effectiveness for both objectives. I will highlight my point by looking at several social channels and the different use/goal between social media and social recruiting.

1. Facebook: Social Media's focus for new clients is one of expertise; a person as subject matter experts, our Facebook interaction shows how we use it to better our business positioning. The focus would allow potential clients to view our expertise in real time on Facebook. Compare that with the Social Recruiting focus of who are we, why would someone want to work here, see how cool we are, and check out our bbq pics. Oh yeah, and we post our jobs here. Personally I am not sure I agree with either approach, but this seems to be the norm.

2. Twitter: Social Media focuses on industry trends, being relevant, getting a presence, interacting with brands of interest, displaying original content and pushing traffic to other channels. Social recruiting focuses on finding candidates, interacting with them, being relevant as an employer and being cool and hip. Social Media wants to focus on sharing professional content while Social Recruiting wants to include viral, funny and trending content.

3. YouTube: Social Media is focused on impressing the client, Social Recruiting is focused on impressing the potential candidates. Social Media wants to PRODUCE high quality videos as part of our body of work, Social Recruiting wants to INCLUDE cool videos made by the average employee that show we value everyone and we have kick a@# people who work here.

4. LinkedIn: Social Media wants to focus on white papers, the employer brand, products and services and providing a professional face. Social Recruiting wants to connect with people who may be candidates and exhibit expertise. Social Media wants to limit interaction on this channel while Social Recruiting wants to channel interaction on this channel.

5. Corporate Site: This may be the place online that has the deepest rift in terms of goals and usage. Is the corporate site a place to introduce the company, its executive team, and its expertise? Or is it a place to highlight the greatness of the company, highlight the employee value proposition, and make people want to work at the company?

So, what to do? Charge ahead as a Social Recruiter in a bubble and do your own thing? Trust that Social Media will create enough side effects to make Social Recruiting somewhat effective? Have both groups meet day in and day out to build one message? We haven't figured it out yet, but we’re working towards it. If you have suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Insiders Opinion on Corporate and Agency Recruiter Relationship

First, let me explain that I spent several years earning my chops as an agency recruiter at some really small shops.  This meant I was always fighting an uphill battle against the big boys in the space that had name recognition, a volume over margin focus, and huge databases.  I was able to parlay that experience with a Masters Degree in Human Resource Development in order to switch over to the dark side of corporate recruiting and HR.  What I have learned in making this switch has been astonishing and casts some doubt on the value I actually was able to provide to clients when I was an agency recruiter.  Let me give you a couple misconceptions I have learned:

      1.  Corporate Recruiters don't like Agency Recruiters:  This may be true for some, but the majority of folks on the corporate side of the fence understand the value of the agency and respect the services offered by the good ones.  The corporate recruiters who don't feel that way probably aren't very good at their job and are highly insecure regarding the prospect of being shown up by an agency recruiter.  Agency recruiters don't like to get lumped into the bad apple generalization, but they are quick to assign corporate recruiters that same bad apple tag based upon the actions of a few bad corporate recruiters. 

     2.  Corporate Recruiters don't give timely enough feedback, but I know they have it:  This couldn't be further from the truth, again, with the good corporate recruiters.  It never ceases it amaze me how many times an agency will call or email within minutes of an interview with a hiring manager to see how their candidate did.  I must admit here that I was a flagrant participant in this behavior before joining the corporate ranks, I mean really bad.  I figured the corporate recruiters could get feedback at the drop of a hat and just were slow in getting back to me.  Plus, I figure it showed my timeliness, dedication, and engagement in the process if I followed up quickly.  I figured wrong.  First, corporate recruiters have a tough time wrangling feedback because in most hiring managers priority list good feedback in a timely manner ranks super low, if it ranks at all.  Second, when recruiters do this is just annoys corporate recruiters who want the feedback just as quickly and are often just as frustrated as the agency folks.  As the face of my company, I can't just say to you the agency recruiter, "The hiring manager sucks at getting me feedback," but I am thinking it sometimes.  I am not sure who trained us on the agency to do this, but it needs to be untrained. 

     3.  Corporate Recruiters don't give enough feedback:  See point 2. Good corporate recruiters will give you whatever feedback they have as soon as they get it.  It might not be much, again, based upon the prioritization of tasks for the hiring manager.  In fact, many times corporate recruiters simply get a green light to hire candidate X, and a pass on Y and Z.  I know this may be hard to believe but there isn't a lot of value in giving tons of feedback on unselected candidates when a candidate has been hired.  Again, it's not that corporate folks don't want to, but there are limitations.

     4.  Why wouldn't corporate recruiters work with lots of agencies?  I used to ask the question all the time when I was an agency recruiter.  I just didn't get why hiring managers and corporate recruiters wouldn't want to talk to as many agencies as possible in order to get the most coverage for their positions and then, I made the switch and the light bulb went on.  Corporate recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers have a lot of work to do that isn't focused on onboarding new agencies to the open positions of the company.  I spend, on average, 3 to 5 hours with a new agency before I expect them to have a full understanding of our company’s culture, products, positional requirements, etc.  Now agency folks don't take this the wrong way, but my phone never stops ringing with agency recruiters who want to establish a relationship with me and my company from scratch.  Lets say, on average, I get 3 calls a day from new agency recruiters, that is 15 a week.  Now if I were to take the time to get each of them ramped up properly to help my company, how long to you think that would take?  Let's go low ball on this and say I ONLY spend an hour with each, I am now left with a 25-hour workweek to get my job done.  But like I said, it takes more like 3 to 5 hours to get ramped up.  I am potentially working overtime just to get agencies in a place that I trust they can effectively and honestly represent me, my company, our brand etc.  It is a big deal and it takes a long time.  At what point in your opinion do I stop taking calls and building relationships? 

The challenge, in my opinion, is deciding which agencies to invest the time in.  Take a look at what four local companies in DFW have on their homepage to entice me to use them.  Like it or not, it all reads the same, and tells me nothing.  When I take a call from an agency, I promise you I will be on your site during that call and this is typically what I find:

1.  Since our inception in 1998, our company now has earned a solid reputation  with both our clients and employees as the recruiting firm of choice in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We specialize in the placement of both direct hire and contract positions in the disciplines of Accounting, Finance, Tax, Office Support, and Human Resources.

2.  Since our founding in 1998, the company maintains the same dedication to a single purpose - to provide the highest quality skill set in the shortest possible time, allowing our partners to meet their project and staffing goals.

3.  At the company, we understand the importance of having a reliable and flexible workforce that can ebb and flow with your business. That’s why we have created staffing solutions for you that go beyond the norm—from a short-term assignment to a complete project team, the company can provide you with the right staffing solution for your situation. We also know that you are looking for people who have an excellent attitude, are highly qualified and reliable. We follow a rigorous recruiting, screening and selection process to ensure consistency from placement to placement. 

4.  We've been a locally-owned, leading staffing agency in the DFW area since 1991. In fact, more than half of our tenured recruiting staff have been with the company for more than 10 years. Each day, they talk to hiring managers, HR directors and supervisors to find out about employers' specific needs. They also consult with a diverse range of talented people seeking new job opportunities.  This regular, highly personal communication gives us a staffing insight that's second to none in DFW. And it's just one reason why we're able to match the most qualified candidates for the openings that you have.

Now, which company would you choose?  Who would you call back?  How would I know?  This is a problem that agencies have created for themselves.  Being able to stand out among the crowd is the key to gaining the relationships that are required.  Sort of chicken and the egg, and I get that, and I hope this helps agencies folks understand that a bit more as well.  Good luck to all the good agencies out there working in this tough space trying to set themselves apart from the rest of the pack.  I know your trials and tribulations and I respect the path you are taking.  

Check Me Out Here