Category Archives: Write Stuff

The transition of recruiting into the cyberspace has been a global affair. On one hand, you are tempted to remain where you are and stick with newspaper and snail mail recruiting. On the other hand, the endless possibility of online recruitment seems very exciting.

Those that jumped onto the bandwagon will soon realize that cyber recruiting space is pretty crowded. Not only million of resumes zapped through thousands of job boards everyday, every recruiter who has the smallest budget can claim a space online. Selling your jobs to prospective, qualified candidates has been, and always be, a sales job.

Are you frustrated that, despite paying through your nose for premium spots on famous job boards, few qualified candidates actually responded to your job ad? That your e-recruiting effort is nothing but a cyber black hole? There are many factors attributed to this, but like all other sales job, it all begins with your sales message – your job ad. Here’s why your job ad never seems to work!

ONE – Your job ad tagline is less than informative
Visit the most famous job boards. Do a search, say, “Process Engineer”. How many results the search generated? And out of these hundreds, how many unimaginative job ad headlines can you see? Chances are, you will see many job ads headed with uninformative taglines, such as “Process Engineer” or simply “Process Engineer, Singapore”. Not only the job ad will fail to attract the right candidates, it also will not
differ from many other ads with similar tagline.

Be precise and direct to the point with your tagline. Imagine it is something that attracts the attention of your target audience, and compels them to click. Include a little information specific to your job, like location of job, employment type, level of positions etc. Example: “Junior Process Engineer, contract, min. 3 yrs. exp.,
Singapore”. Write in such a way that makes your prospect think, “Hey, that’s me!” and click on your job ad.

TWO – Your job ad does not contain the right sales message

Remember your job ad is always a sales message. Imagine you are selling a product. How do you compel your customers to “purchase” from you? A good sales person knows that accurate and complete information is the key to convince the customers that, yes, your product is the solution to their problems.

So, write your job ad to solve your targeted candidates’ problems. There is always three main sections of a job ad:

#1 – Job Description
What are the roles for this position? Does the candidate need to manage a team? Is he going to work on a technical project? How about business development? Be precise on your job description – an accurate “sales copy” here will attract the right candidates (“Hey, that job describe ME!”) and positively deter unsuitable ones.

#2 – Position Requirements
Who are you looking for? Who will be best equipped to optimally perform in this role? Your job requirements are checklist details for the candidate to assess what he has to offer you. Educational qualifications, language capability, years of working experiences and work authorizations are but some of the details that you should put in.

#3 – Employment Details
If the candidate you are looking for is most likely to be working for, perhaps, your competitors, your job description and position requirements will not be enough to arouse his interest to send you his resume. When you know this is the selling point for your job, include the employment details. Salary package, company welfare, compensation scheme, career path and employment types (contract, permanent etc.) are essential data any serious careerist will consider before click the “Apply” button

THREE – Your job ad is not visually attractive

As strange as it sounds, increasingly, how you present your job ad is going to be important. In the world of online job postings where hundreds, if not thousands of jobs ads struggle to capture job seekers’ attention, you have to stand out from the crowd. How can you do that? Use the basic – HTML and pictures.

Nothing is more boring than a job ad presented the old way – text, and more text. Just like the way you format your Words document, you would want it to be presentable. Use HTML. You may also want
include a picture in your job ad. Sometimes, a company logo can be very attractive. Have a picture of the workplace your new candidate will work at? Include them. Like they say, a picture speaks a thousand
words, so why not let it speak for your job ad?

FOUR – Your job ad does not contain easy instruction for application

Don’t forget – the whole purpose of your job ad is to entice your customer to “buy”. Drawing from some of the best practices of e-commerce, make it exceptionally easy for the candidate to apply for your position. By far, an email address will be the most user-friendly option. If you have an e-recruitment system in place, remember to provide the link. If you prefer snail mail application (oh really, you shouldn’t be!), put in your mailing address. Make sure it is accurate!

Learn from these few lessons, and I’m sure your job ad will attract the RIGHT people, and compel them to APPLY for your job. Since the online job ad already cost you, why not make the effort to make it work?

Good luck!

As human resources professional professionals worldwide can easily testify, the employment and career industry is growing faster than ever. Employment agencies, or what we call as “third party recruiter”, are flooding the market, all offering you “customized solution” and “unparallel service”.

But just how good some of these recruiters are? How can you be assured that your recruitment investment goes to the best in the market? Here’s a checklist for you to assess your recruiter and see if they make the
mark!

Does your recruiter deliver top quality candidates promptly and within budget? A strong recruiter delivers result consistently and always on schedule, earning the respect from both clients and candidates

Does your recruiter understand or uses job description and position requirements in the candidate search process?
The best job fit is only possible through strong, in-depth understand what you need in your candidates. In fact, your recruiter should know hiring needs as good as your hiring manager, and uses all kind of performance needs knowledge to assess, close and influence everyone involved in the search.

Does your recruiter use at-the-edge sourcing tools to hunt for the best candidates? Your recruiter should always deliver to the bottom line – that is, to use whatever means necessary to build a pool of highly qualified candidates in the shortest time possible. He or she should be extremely proficient in using high-tech tools to deliver you the best candidates possible.

Does your recruiter network to find top candidates, using high-touch direct sourcing technique? Most of us know that the best candidate is, and should be, happily employed and not actively seeking new employment. The best recruiter, in turn, must be in the best networks of people to build a pipeline of top candidates through referral initiatives.

Does your recruiter manage all search activities efficiently? Recruiters in large organizations need to manage many job requests from different hiring managers at any one time. Therefore, the competent recruiter should not only be a great multi-tasker and able to obtain needed resources effectively, he or she should also be competent in using array of tools to manage recruiting work in a fast-paced environment

Does your recruiter use job market expertise to improve results? In-depth market knowledge is the key for optimal result in your recruitment work. Highly regarded recruiters are experts who know every facet of the job market, and proactively learn new trends and emerging best practices. Such recruiters are often seen as a strategic partner and yours should be an advisor to you.

Does your recruiter work closely with your hiring managers? If your recruiter falls short in being as knowledgeable as your hiring managers, he or she should work very closely with them for maximum recruiting efficiency. A great recruiter is often seen as a “coach”, helping hiring managers making hiring decisions and able to influence the whole search process.

Does your recruiter manage candidates’ needs throughout the process? Overzealous recruiters can be too focused on sales – they tend to “suck-up” to their clients so much that the other party in the process – the candidates – are often neglected. What makes a good recruiter stands out is that he or she not only attend to the clients’ need but influence and advises candidates as well. The best recruiters are often seen as career advisor by many top candidates.

Does your recruiter accurately interview and assess candidate competencies? In today’s competitive employment market, active job seekers are always a handful and at times it is very difficult to differentiate the good ones from the bad. Therefore, a thorough assessment on your candidates is essential to ensure job fit. A good recruiter is one that initiates and manages effective assessment using a variety of tools. He or she always should be confident that the results are very accurate and insightful.

Does your recruiter work with your team to coordinate all search activities? A strong recruiter is one that is very proactive to initiate team action. Often, he or she supports and even train others in your team to improve your recruitment process results. Many HR professionals look upon the best recruiters as advisor in their search process.

So, does your recruiter live up to the mark? If not, it is time to share your insights with him or her, or perhaps you should start looking somewhere else!

You may have been thinking about participating in career fairs. To some, this may not be a very feasible idea. The same crowd of candidates that visit your booth may also be visiting your competitors’ booth. In manning your booth, you need manpower and resources. The resulting candidates that you managed to haul in are often unpredictable. How can you be assured your investment in career fairs will be justified?

Fruitful participations at job fairs require planning, creativity and commitment. Some of the points of consideration you may want to ponder on if you ever think of joining a career fair:

Check out the track record of the career fair organizer. Find out if their previous events were successful. Attend other events that they are currently having, if there is any.

How will the organizer help you to reach out to your targeted candidates? You will want to find out what kind of promotional activities planned prior to the fair, extend of media coverage the fair will be generating, the projected crowd turnout etc.

Have your logistic concerns worked out. Will you have a table or interview cubicle for on-the-spot candidate screening? How about electricity, signage, carpets? Will you have ample time to set up your booth?

A great way to promote employment branding for your company is by having giveaways. Think of a goodies bag. Plan for the cost, the time commitment and the follow up action required

To ensure better success for your company, have a few company representatives present during the job fair. They need to be one of those outgoing and enthusiastic people – think of salesmen for your company products and services. That’s how you are going to sell your jobs to the candidates

Be ready for your hot prospects right there at the booth. Have your application form, company information, contact details all ready at hand. If possible, conduct on-the-spot interviews. Always remember to follow up on candidates who are obviously interested in your company. You may not hire them now, but keeping in touch makes them “sold in” to your future job opportunities

Career fairs done right may just be an integral part of your recruiting process. With the expected turnaround of the economy getting near and scarce employee market becoming a reality, joining a career fair may be
the best investment yet for your company staffing strategy.