recruitDC

You are here: Home / Archives for Blog

Let's Overcome the Suck of Sourcing. #SourceLikeABoss

by Leave a Comment

By Marie Burns

Recruiting and sourcing is hard. Very hard on this day of May 11, 2016. 

Do you remember when you could create a job posting on whatever job board was the hottest for your jobs and wake up the next day (and following weeks) with 50-100 resumes in your inbox?  Then you got to choose, schedule, and get people jobs.  Looking back – geez – we were lucky, weren’t we?  If you didn’t experience those times, awesome! Be grateful those memories aren’t etched in your psyche.  

Those days are gone.  Sucks, really.  It was great making money without having to be ADD with tools, metrics, time management, etc. Back in the day, we had more time to do more and build meaningful relationships with clients and candidates, but that’s typically not our reality anymore. We have to hustle.  Hustle harder than ever to beat out the competition (companies and agencies).  

At RecruitDC, we’ll learn how to #SourceLikeABoss and protect your leading recruiting practices (+Recruiting Managers who want to add new tools to their teams’ tool-belt) and how to use X vs Y to be more productive than you ever thought possible. Plus, use a basic methodology to decide when it’s best to use a new-age tool versus your current best practices (have you heard of The Tipping Point?).  To be frank, this isn’t going to be about how to increase your InMail responses. Sorry, not happening. This session is beyond that purposefully helping you decipher what to use to make the best use of your time (and $$$$).  

I was lucky enough to have a year off to do paid-research and thus began a slight obsession with how to be the best in the industry – from soup-to-nuts sourcing, recruiting and executing among large teams. 

So here’s what we’re going to chat about: our biggest challenges, tools to use and the success rates, and what “might” be better, or at least worthy of trying to replace some of outdated practices so you WIN!  This session was created to help YOU WIN and think outside-of-the-box.  Personally, I haven’t found a way to make myself give in to the every-day approach – or at least stop searching how to do it better.  We may openly agree, disagree, or you may walk away adopting brand new sourcing and recruiting strategies that rock your world.  

Don’t take my word for it, come join the conversation – because there will be no talking head. I will likely ask questions, run through new tools and then sit back and listen to your successes – and failures – since we’ve all had ’em (with a Playbook to take home of course). #SourceLikeABoss

 

Marie Burns is a Boston-based talent acquisition and management, culture, and organizational development leader who rapidly scales companies, typically start-ups and mid-sized companies by advising and executing on strategic programs, motivating teams, and creating innovative ideas for any problem in need of a solution. Her insights have been shared through Recruiting Tools, The Muse, Mashable, Forbes, and other publications. She leads multiple recruiting and innovation communities including the BATSA leadership committee (the largest recruiting community on the east coast), and serves as a start-up advisor and on global boards. She also presents at local and global talent management conferences to evangelize innovative recruiting methods for building successful engaged, distributed, millennial and future workforces.

Ms. Burns founded TalentAmp in 2014 after becoming increasingly frustrated with the “same old” recruiting practices when talent acquisition has so much more to offer. Today she spends her time advising new product companies, training leaders and recruiting teams how to effectively hire the best talent. Simultaneously, she is building a new product unlike any other on the market. She tweets @marieburns.

Keep it Simple: How to Get More Done

by Leave a Comment

Ed. Note: We’re in the final month before recruitDC’s Spring Event on May 26th (Tickets? Click Here). We’re continuing our preview of the speakers who’ll be joining us for the event. Conor Nicholson, Founder of NSS RPO is on deck today with a sample of what he’ll discuss in his session “I’m a Recruiter, Now What?”

Seriously. There are only about 50 tickets left, so if you haven’t gotten yours, grab a latte and a laptop and we’ll see you there! 

 

By: Conor Nicholson

Want to accomplish more during your work day? Start focusing on less tasks. Sounds counterintuitive, doesn’t it? How am I going to get more done if I cut my to-do list in half? The answer is by focusing on one task at a time and doing it until completion. Easier said than done as these days, recruiters are pulled into all sorts of meetings and their focus can be shifted, sometimes multiple times a day.

But if you let external forces pull you away from what you want to accomplish, you’re never going to feel whole. You’re never going to feel like you’re giving your job and your co-workers the very best of you. Far too often, we start our days with the best intentions to make a real dent into major projects or lingering deadlines. But by the time 5:30/6PM rolls around, you look at what you’ve accomplished and want to kick yourself. Not only did you not achieve what you wanted to, your to-do list just got bigger! So the next morning, you feel even more overwhelmed and helpless. This can turn into an endless cycle that has major impacts on your personal life, well-being and health. Life is too short. It’s not worth it.

Earlier in my career, I was a legitimate hot mess. I had no direction and focus was a major challenge. I would start something, get distracted, see another email, take a phone call and an hour later, realize I hadn’t accomplished a damn thing. Think that felt good?

It wasn’t until I was 25 that I really started to take my recruiting career seriously. Instead of trying to solve every problem and make every placement in a single day, I simplified my days and saw my productivity skyrocket. If my candidate pipeline was light, I might spend 4-6 hours resume sourcing. That’s right, 4-6 of my 8 hours focused on a single task. Unlike the old me, I wouldn’t spend 10 minutes sourcing, get distracted and then see 5:30PM pop up. I turned off all notifications and checked email a max of 4 times. We’ll have a blog post about that soon.

I’d throw on headphones, close my office door and put “conference call” on the whiteboard outside my door. People got the drift that I was not to be interrupted. I had a laser focus and could really see who was the best candidate for the job. My goal was always on quality over quantity. Much better to court 3 superstar candidates versus 10 so-so candidates. The results were enormous. Instead of averaging 3 hires a month, now I was hiring 5. As I was reaching out to less candidates, I had less email interactions to manage.

Other days might be focused on making phone calls while other days might be focused on a ton of face to face interviews. My compass was always focused on pushing candidates that much closer to the deal and by simplifying my day, I left work with a clear conscious, energized for the what the evening might bring. It changed the way I viewed work and made me a better recruiter. If the guy who was voted most disorganized in his high school class can do this, trust me, so can you.

Conor Nicholson is the founder, President and CEO of NSS RPO, a DC based firm that specializes in placing recruiters. He learns something new every day and loves helping fellow recruiters meet their potential. Follow him on Twitter at @NSSRPO

Getting Employee Relocation Right

by Leave a Comment

Your company has had an open position for months and you have found the perfect candidate for the role, but they live half way across the country.  Your company has agreed to relocate the new employee and you would like to make sure that it goes well.  How do you proceed with the new hire and make sure that they arrive the first day ready to start the ground running?  Here are several simple tips that you should make sure that your company is taking into consideration when they handle relocation:

  • Stop using Signing Bonuses to pay help pay for Relocation. Many companies that do not have formalized relocation policies use signing bonuses in lieu of a policy.   Bonuses of this nature are taxable income to your new employees.  If you give someone a $10,000 signing bonus then there is an immediate loss of 25-39.5% to taxes right from the start and your employee has not even started to move.  Relocation benefits are not always taxable, it is better to have your corporate funds used for what they were intended for, not extra taxes. 
  • Nothing says welcome to your new job quite as badly as having your new hire pay for their Relocation and wait for reimbursement.  One of the easiest ways to improve your policy without any additional expenditures is to set up a direct bill for household goods, which can be one of the most expensive parts of a Relocation.   For many employees, paying for a household goods move upfront and waiting for reimbursement can place them in an awkward financial situation that they may not want to discuss with a new employer and might discourage them from taking the position.   A Corporate account can provide additional guarantees and service level protection for your team without adding any additional fees. 
  • Relocation benefits come in all shapes and sizes.  Some companies have Relocation Policies based on benefits, some use financial allowances for relocation and many companies do not have any policies in place whatsoever.  When your company is providing a financial allowance for relocation it is frequently referred to as a lump sum policy. Counsel your transferees on how to maximize their relocation benefit under lump sum policies.  When a lump sum allowance is not going to be sufficient to cover all of the relocation costs, have your transferees plan strategically on how to use their funds, so they minimize their tax ramifications.  Discuss the taxable versus non-taxable components of relocation with the transferees.
  • When there is not a formalized Relocation policy in place, we find that monetary caps are being put on the relocation without knowing what relocation would really cost.  The household goods move is not the only cost that needs to be considered.  For non-homeowners, lease breaking and rental deposits can be very costly.  We always suggest talking to a Relocation company to help build a realistic relocation budget prior to presenting the relocation allowance to the new hire.

Need help maximizing the benefits for your employees and minimizing the costs for your company?  Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions.

 

Cathy Ware Partridge is a Client Services Manager with Interstate Relocation Services. You can connect with her at Cathy.Partridge@invan.com or on LinkedIn

HR Tech Fest Coming to DC!

by Leave a Comment

Conferences are flocking to DC, it seems! We’ve got a special offer for our recruitDC community, courtesy of The Eventful Group. HR Tech Fest is coming to DC April 20 through the 22nd. As a member of the recruitDC community, they are offering a Buy One Get One ticket price with an additional $100 off the registration for our community. 

For Tickets: Visit the HR Tech Fest Registration Page, and enter code RecruitDC to claim the discount. 

They have a stellar lineup with Talent Acquisition leaders from all over the country, including:

Ambrosia Vertesi – VP, Talent, Hootsuite

William Tincup – Principal Analyst, KeyInterval Research

Bill Boorman – Managing Director Innovation & Technology, RecruitingDaily & #tru

 

Event and Ticket Information:

Technology continues to disrupt the way HR functions. No longer the cost center or the poor cousin; new disruptive technology, easy to adopt in bite size and cloud based chunks, has thrust HR into a leadership role demanding it to be a strategic partner within the organization. So the emphasis for HR to enhance performance, cut costs and find value adding tools has never been greater.

Enter HR Tech Fest. This global conference is expanding into North America this spring at The Renaissance Washington, D.C. Downtown Hotel, April 20-22. Join the best and brightest in HR and technology to discuss this exciting convergence of people, process and tech.

An event built by HR professionals and presented by that same community of practitioners, HR Tech Fest features presentations from leading companies including Twitter, Google, Hulu, Amazon, GoDaddy and more. Learn best practices on how they successfully moved HR into a strategic role and proven cost benefits to their C-level.

Get a sneak peek into the conference content by attending this complimentary webinar with renowned HR Tech guru and conference speaker, William Tincup. Learn some of the most critical trends in HR technology today, and hear how to better position yourself to make technology purchases, optimize your own technology and impact your business.

Register for HR Tech Fest by March 18 with promo code RecruitDC and save $100 off your BOGO.   

With HR Tech Fest in April and the recruitDC Conference in May, you’re spring learning is set to hyperdrive!

A Glut Of Recruiters Jobs In The DC Area?

by Leave a Comment

By Tracy Tran

This past January, I was laid off at my company and I immediately updated my resume and applied to numerous companies and staffing agencies (Spoiler Alert: I start my new job with the HR Source this week). I did get interviews, including several from staffing firms. Without asking, all the staffing firms told me there were tons of recruiting openings (mostly contract) that companies are looking. I asked them why there’s a demand of recruiters. None of the recruiters, from staffing firms, had an answer why there is high demand. So, the next best thing is I asked the recruitDC community about this and there were a few theories:

Theory #1: Not a lot of recruiters in the DC area

It is not the right answer, but it is not entirely far-fetched, either. In Northern Virginia, you have a wide array of government contractors; in Maryland, you have mostly biotech companies; and in D.C., you have everything you can imagine, but only a few slots to fill. However recently, the area has been diversifying (in different industries and sectors) to attract people from across the United States to come to D.C.

Theory #2: Executives don’t think recruiters are necessary, are the first to get laid off, and hire contract recruiters.

On one hand, I do think executives might have a point since some companies are automating their recruiting process and making most recruiters lazy instead of being proactive, which gives recruiting a bad name.

On the other hand, if you have a good recruiting department, why would you eliminate it? Good recruiters do the ground work of sourcing, contacting, and networking with potential candidates and forward the best candidates available to the hiring manager. Good recruiters do not rely too much on machines; they mostly rely on the art of recruiting.

Theory #3: Headcounts are growing for D.C. area companies.

This is the most likely theory as the D.C. area job growth outpaced the national job growth last year. You would think federal funding was a factor of the job growth in D.C.

Not true.

D.C. area companies have found new sources of revenue and with cheaper gas prices and other alternatives to take advantage; companies can expand and be aggressive in their hiring, which is great for recruiters here.

If you’re looking for recruiting opportunities in D.C. area, it is a great time to find one. Even if the company does not have any recruiting openings, they might create one, and luckily, that’s what happened to me.

Groups like We Recruit DC on Facebook have been filled with opportunities as of late, and it bodes well for recruiters.

What are you seeing in the DC area? 

Tracy is a Sourcer and Social Media Specialist for The HR SOURCE in Maryland.  He has been in recruiting for over twelve years sourcing, networking, interviewing, negotiating, and advising hiring managers on who to look for. His experience stretches sectors from nonprofits, consulting firm, government contracting, tech, media, and others from a variety of positions from executives, directors, interns, senior-level, mid-level, and entry-level positions. He has also dealt with job boards currently with NatsJobs, which is a unique and interactive job board during Washington Nationals games. Connect with Tracy on LinkedIn or Twitter.

NEVER MISS A RECRUITDC UPDATE!

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates on recruitDC events, blog posts, conferences and more!

Get Social