Recruiters are feeling the effects of the pandemic and the current market for recruiting quality employees to your organization.  The constantly changing trends make it harder to recruit top talent, and right now it is definitely a candidate’s market.  In addition, there are trends all recruiters should be aware of as you are working harder than ever to source good candidates.

Human Resources conducts many surveys each year that may include compensation, benefits, interest in activities, wellness, employee engagement, etc.  These surveys give employers insight into the employee experience and provide an opportunity to improve and become more competitive. 

The answer to this question can vary from time to time, era to era, etc.  There are always jobs that are “hard to fill” and professions or skill sets that aren’t as popular as others. 

Raise your hands…how many of you have said hiring for culture fit is as important, or more important, than hiring for skillset?  We can train people on the skills needed to perform a specific job, but we cannot change who a person is.  But, have you thought that hiring for culture “fit” could cause an unconscious bias and result in a culture that ends up being discriminatory?  

I recently received an inquiry asking if a company should use social media scanning during the recruiting process.  At first I thought, yes, companies utilize social media to source candidates and learn more about their skills and experience.  However, the inquiry was more focused on recruiters and HR personnel scanning public social media sources to review personal about a potential candidate looking for any red flags or posts that may not align with company values. 

The holidays are coming, yet Americans are quitting jobs at a record rate according to a recent Labor Department report.  “Quits jumped to 4.3 million in August, the highest on records dating back to December 2000, and up from 4 million in July.  That’s equivalent to nearly 3% of the workforce.  Hiring also slowed in August, the report showed, and the number of jobs available fell to 10.4 million, from a record high of 11.1 million the previous month.”

What are ‘Gig’ workers?  And what is a ‘Gig’ Economy?  New trends in the business world? Maybe; however, it has actually been a thing since 2009 when New Yorker editor Tina Brown, defined the “gig economy” as knowledge economy workers pursuing “a bunch of free-floating projects, consultancies, and part-time bits and pieces while they transacted in a digital marketplace.” With the holiday season approaching quickly, many...

As a hiring manager, seeing the resume of an outstanding internal candidate land on your desk is the best-case scenario. Why? You can fill the job immediately, and because current employees know the organization and its quirks, they require less handholding in order to get up to speed quickly.

We have talked previously about the most effective ways to assess job candidates – generally, experienced candidates.  Do we assess entry-level candidates the same way?  Assessing any candidate inevitably involves weighing two important types of information: what they’ve accomplished in the past (their experience) and how they’re likely to perform in the future (their potential).  The question is, can we assess entry-level candidates past work experience?

The number of job openings, as well as people voluntarily leaving employers, hit all-time highs in recent months. New data finds an astounding 95% of workers say they are considering changing jobs.  The U.S. has 9.2 million jobs open, with 92% of workers saying they are willing to switch industries for a new job.

Throughout my career in HR there have been various techniques that promised to identify the best candidate for a particular job.  The focus always seemed to be on technical skills, education, and experience.  Competency-based interviewing techniques are still a go to in today’s world in order to ensure you choose the best applicant.

Consumer experiences define and shape our economy. Consumers are more likely to make additional purchases, refer friends, and remain loyal to a brand when they have an exceptional experience — while a negative experience can wreak havoc on a brand. 

Talent acquisition and talent management have traditionally been separate functions within human resources, but now some companies are starting to combine them under the umbrella of one leadership position.

Agile: The ability to move quickly and easily; relating to or denoting a method of project management that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent reassessment and adaptation of plans.  Agility has been working its way into areas and functions from product development to manufacturing to marketing—and now it’s transforming how organizations hire, develop, and manage their people.

We've all been there – the awkward small talk. The fluorescent lights illuminating the sweat on your brow. The feeling like you're a used-car salesman — but the used car is yourself. Job interviews are the worst. And according to a new book, they're often pretty much useless for selecting the best candidate for a position.

Businesses closing, mass layoffs, and furloughs equal high unemployment rates – 7.5% in January 2021 in the state of Michigan.  Managers shouldn’t be worried about retaining their current employees, should they?  Who would leave a secure job during a time like this?

ASE has received many questions regarding the salary history ban many states have enacted recently. A salary history ban prohibits employers from asking applicants about their current or past salaries, benefits, or other compensation.  

Notes – it seems we write notes in almost every aspect of our lives.  Grocery shopping, honey do, chores, etc.  I don’t know about you, but if I don’t write it down, I will most likely forget it.  Studies have shown, the more we humans write, the more we are able to retain.

Happy New Year!  As we enter 2021, I find myself thinking a lot about how recruiting changed in 2020, and what recruiters should prepare for in 2021.  Multiple recruitment experts expect the pace of change will remain about the same over the next several months.  This means another year of adjusting to a constantly evolving environment.

2020 brought Human Resources a multitude of unprecedented issues to manage with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has left many HR leaders with a bit of trepidation as we look to 2021.  What will go back to normal, what will change, and what will stay the same?  In other words, what’s next?

Time to fill, time to start, days open, response rate, time to conversion, cost per hire, candidate experience…which one is the most important metric to hiring managers? 

We are all aware of how COVID-19 has impacted hiring within our business since March 2020.  A majority of businesses froze or slowed their hiring amid furloughs and layoffs.  Now that we are at the end of 2020, what trends are we expecting in 2021?

According to research by Glassdoor, great employee onboarding can improve employee retention by 82% and boost productivity by more than 70%.  Employee performance improves and turnover is reduced, which gives organizations a key advantage over their competition.

The United States’ unemployment rate in February 2020 was 3.8%, and in April 2020 it shot up to 14.7% due to the pandemic.  Thankfully, it has slowly been decreasing during the past few months, however some economists worry a weak economy, or spike in pandemic cases, could spur more layoffs. 

Under the laws enforced by EEOC, it is illegal to discriminate against someone (applicant or employee) because of that person's race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, or genetic information.  It is also illegal and unethical to ask candidates about marital status, children, and health conditions.  However, during this challenging time of COVID-19, it seems some employers may be...