Sendouts Recruiting Software Blog

Study Reveals Online Job Boards are most popular recruiting tool

The Inavero Institute for Service Research recently conducted a survey that revealed that online job boards are the most popular recruitment tool for small and mid-sized organizations. The survey included responses from hiring managers and human resource professionals on 1,000 hiring experiences across all industries.

Local newspapers still remain a leading recruiting tool – 47% of hiring managers still use this as a medium for recruiting. Interestingly, the survey found that online job boards are the main tool used to recruit white collar employees in addition to company websites.

Online job boards are certainly becoming a more popular tool, especially as they have branched out with more niche networks for specific industries. With more recruiters and hiring managers using online outlets for both job postings and sourcing, the importance of an applicant tracking system that is Web 2.0 capable to manage the incoming and outgoing data is a necessity and will become more important as newspapers become less and less relevant and recruiting moves entirely online.

LinkedIn – Hiding Connections?

LinkedIn – the professional’s MySpace. It has become a popular tool for recruiters looking to connect with passive candidates, as well as boost their own profiles online. Managing LinkedIn connections is an art form – one question that I often get is: Should I or shouldn’t I hide my connections?

Hiding connections may seem opposite of the spirit of networking, but I personally think that it creates a more valuable network. By hiding my connections, I know that whoever would like to connect with me is safe and valued. I want to protect my network, which includes clients, and many CEOs that might be sought out on LinkedIn.

I would ask the same for my connections that they hide my profile from others to avoid being contacted from those that I would not expect. Of course, it is a personal choice whether to protect your network or not, leaving connections open may build a larger network and sometimes it’s a numbers game.

We would love to know what you think – weigh on in the debate!

Ingenious Recruiting YouTube Video

One of the most ingenious recruiting campaigns out there is for a T-shirt company.  It has nearly 100,000 views on YouTube alone.  And, this is only of one of the versions on YouTube.  Think about how many people have shared this on Facebook, MySpace, on their blogs, Digg, Mixx and the rest.  Mind boggling. 

The point is that social media is here to stay and the recruiting industry is only beginning to get truly creative about using it to reach Gen X and Y. 

Enjoy the video.

Are you Tweeting?

If you’re not on Twitter, you’re missing out.  This microblog site is a very public IM.  But the applications and benefits can be endless.  Just to name a few off the top of my head:

-          Post links to you blog entries or job postings

-          Recruiting updates for your team

-          Get to know your clients.  Hey!  We’re not defined by our careers and have lives outside that don’t involve a flat screen with a blinking cursor (or, at least, I hope that’s the case with everyone reading this.  If not, please stop reading this blog, turn off the computer and GO do something social WITH someone in person).  This gives you insight to the person – from hobbies to preferences.

-          Random meet-ups.  By giving up to the minute “where in the world is Brad Herrick” tweets, I’m able to let people know that I’m stuck at O’Hare airport or on my way to the West Coast.  You’d be surprised as how many people I’ve been able to meet with at the spur of the moment.

-          Links from Twitter to current open jobs from your client’s website

-          Connecting with passive candidates.  Get into the conversation.  I don’t have to tell you how hard it is trying to break thru Gen X’s “between gen” issues.  Social media is a perfect way to break the ice, make a connection and find out what they want or need in their next position.

Monster seems to be one of the few jobs boards out there that’s figured out the Twitter + Open Jobs = Recruiting Opportunity formula.  Monster links directly to career content on their site.

CareerBuilder surveys resume embellishment

CareerBuilder has put together a survey of hiring managers and workers to identify “tall tales” and bold lies most often told on resumes. The top 10 are pretty surprising:

1. Candidate claimed to be a member of the Kennedy family

2. Applicant invented a school that did not exist

3. Job seeker submitted a résumé with someone else's photo inserted into the document

4. Candidate claimed to be a member of Mensa

5. Applicant claimed to have worked for the hiring manager before, but never had

6. Job seeker claimed to be the CEO of a company when he was an hourly employee

7. Candidate listed military experience dating back to before he was born

8. Job seeker included samples of work, which were actually those of the interviewer

9. Applicant claimed to be Hispanic when he was 100 percent Caucasian

10. Candidate claimed to have been a professional baseball player

Pretty scary what people will say to get a job huh? The survey also indicates that 38% of respondents indicated that they have embellished their job responsibilities, 18% lied about their skill sets and 10% lied about an academic degree.

In addition to uncovering the untruths in resumes, the survey identified that the hospitality, transportation and IT industries are the most saturated with candidates who embellish their resumes. Government has the fewest.

Honestly is always the best policy. Recruiters and employers alike need to be diligent about background screening to confirm the information stated on resumes before making a hire. Employees are an investment and should be thoroughly evaluated before making any offers.

Indeed Keeps Climbing The Ladder

The super job aggregator, Indeed, has finally captured the job listing from The Ladders. Chris Russell came across this tidbit of information at the SHRM conference and was kind enough to share it on Jobboarders.

If you're not familiar with Indeed, they combine open job orders from a variety of sources like CareerBuilder, HotJobs, Dice, Corporations, as well as, third party recruiter websites. Indeed is also generating a ton of traffic, about 200,000 unique visitors a day which has helped it leapfrog past Monster in terms of job searches.

Low Tech 2.0

A couple of blogposts have brought up how Web 2.0 has reached out of cyberspace and is impacting the "real world". Rohit, with the Influential Marketing Blog introduced Nametag 2.0 and has introduced a great way to incorporate social media in a non-PC (or Mac) environment.

A Nametag 2.0 offers more than just your name - it also gives a snapshot of who you are and why people would want to interact with you, as well as giving them the vital "2.0-style"

John Jantsch of the Duct Tape Marketing Blog dug up a clever politician who has brought social media to the front yard campaign sign.

This is a brilliant application of offline social media and user generated content and gives the campaign hundreds of potential marketing messages and a variety of eye-catching signs instead of the same old boring uniform sign that blends into the landscape.

Both of these examples highlight how user created content can leach into everyday life and become useful outside of a web-browser. For the recruiting professional, taking away some of these low-tech options could be an ice-breaker when attending networking events or conferences where prospective clients may be.