Tag Archive for: Hiring Advice

Bridging the Gap Between Company Needs and Employee Skillsets

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One thing that many companies are currently experiencing is a discrepancy between the soft skills listed in their job postings, and the soft skills that job seekers are posting on their résumés.

As all industries are currently struggling to find employees, this gap is making it even more difficult for companies to find individuals who they feel would be a good fit for their open positions.

After completing a market analysis, and speaking with numerous clients currently struggling with staffing, we have seen trends on job postings that are deterring job seekers from applying.

Issues:

1. Job Titles – Too often, the job titles listed on postings do not match the duties and requirements needed to be a fit for a role. After reading the title, candidates are discouraged from applying because they feel that they are underqualified.

2. Skills Listed – Most of the time, there are too many skills listed as needed on job postings, which gives candidates the wrong impression about what the job entails. Especially since many of the skills listed are not actually needed to effectively do the job.

3. Speed – The majority of positions within the warehouse and Light Industrial industry do not need extensive training. It’s important to make it clear that applicants will be able to start within a day of submitting an application.

Solutions:

1. Take a “Less Is More” Approach

There is no need for job postings to be too wordy. A job seeker wants to look for work and within seconds of reading it, know whether or not they are going to apply.

2. Work with a Staffing Agency

A staffing agency can not only help you with finding qualified candidates to fill open roles within your company, they can also provide feedback on your job postings and hiring process to help you determine what is necessary and what’s not to get more applicants.

3. Communicate with your HR department

If the person writing and posting the job descriptions is different from the person doing the hiring, both individuals need to be involved in the creating of job listings. This will ensure there are no discrepancies between what employers are expecting and what job seekers are seeing.

4. Clearly Communicate Start Date

Job seekers are always going to gravitate towards positions that make it clear that they can start right away. If there is no phone call within a day of applying, or the onboarding process is too long, candidates will already be on to their next opportunity.

Overall, it is important that if a company wants to see the right candidates applying for their open positions, they must adjust their screening process and how they communicate with potential employees. Additionally, finding good employees might also mean changing their expectations about what they are expecting in candidate skillsets. These tactics are sure to create a more effective process to finding the best employees for their companies.

 

If your company is in need of employees, we at Award can help you. Contact us with your staffing needs here.

Signs Your Hiring Process Isn’t Working for You

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We don’t go into the hiring process expecting it to fail, but bad hires happen—and they can cost your organization a lot of time and money. If you’ve been struggling to attract the right kind of employee, it might not be their fault. It could be that your hiring process isn’t working for you. Luckily, it’s easy to evaluate your hiring practices and make any necessary adjustments.

Signs your hiring process needs help

  • • High turnover. Didn’t you just do this six months ago? If you’re dealing with a high turnover rate, that’s a clear sign that you’re not finding the right fit for your company and the specific position.
  • • Long hiring times. If your hiring process take months to complete, it’s not necessarily a sign that you have too many great candidates to choose from. Good hiring processes don’t need to be long in order to find quality candidates.
  • • Low or no ROI. Are you spending months looking for a good employee? When you spend a lot of time, money and effort finding the right fit but aren’t successful, that’s another indicator that your hiring process needs to be revisited.
  • • Deficient applicant pools. When interest in the position is lower than you were counting on, it’s a sign that either your job description is lackluster, the compensation isn’t a fit for the type of candidate you’re looking for or that you’re not reaching the type of people you’re hoping to hire.
  • • Frequent withdrawals. Maybe your job description is stellar and you have a lot of qualified candidates to choose from, but they’re frequently withdrawing their interest sometime between the interview and the offer. That’s a sign that your interview process is too onerous. If candidates decline once you’ve made the offer, consider whether it’s compensation, your team or something else that makes you less attractive.
  • • Negative performance reviews. Are you hiring qualified candidates only to find that your managers and supervisors are unhappy with the choices? That indicates there’s a disconnect between your understanding of what they need from an employee versus what they actually want.

How to adjust your hiring process

  • • Evaluate the skills needed for the job. Talk with your management staff to discuss the specific skills they think successful candidates need, and have them articulate why. Decide whether what you’re asking for is a “need” or a “nice to have.”
  • • Revisit your job posting and compensation. Are you offering competitive compensation? We all want a bargain, but you shouldn’t expect to receive the equivalent of quality champagne on a Diet Coke budget. You can also adjust your job posting by asking staff members to review and identify ways to make it more compelling.
  • • Standardize your evaluation. Finally, make a list of what you’re evaluating and how you’ll score candidates—this makes the whole process more objective, and helps you look past personality.

Not attracting the right candidates for your open positions? Contact Award Staffing for help finding and hiring the right candidates for your company.

When a Hiring Freeze May Not Be the Right Solution

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Hiring freezes can stop a company from spending money on finding and hiring new candidates, but they might be doing your business more harm than good. As a hiring manager or owner, it’s important to consider why you want to implement a hiring freeze, and whether another solution could accomplish the desired—or better—results.

What is a hiring freeze, and why do companies use them?

Hiring freezes are often a reactionary response to financial downturns. Many businesses see their employees as costs or accounting expenses. In turn, they decide not to hire new employees—even if desperately needed—to cut down on their spending. Sometimes management uses this time to decide whether certain positions are necessary, or to restructure that portion of the business to increase overall profitability.

While profit and loss are valid concerns, hiring freezes may not accomplish the goals you hoped. Instead of thinking of employees as costs, think of them as revenue generators: you need them to make money, and if you don’t have enough people to generate income for the business, you won’t be doing your accounts any favors.

Why hiring freezes might not work for you

If you’re considering a hiring freeze, consider these points. Is there another way to accomplish your objectives?

  • • They’re a way to avoid conflict. Generally, people don’t like conflict, and confronting poor performers is uncomfortable for everyone involved. Hiding behind hiring freezes is the equivalent of throwing your hands up in the air and asking, “What can you do? We can’t hire anyone new.”
  • • They make it harder on your employees. If someone quits or is fired during a hiring freeze, their workload doesn’t disappear along with them—your remaining employees will have to take on more in order to keep business at the same level. This breeds frustration and resentment and could lead to additional staff loss.
  • • Freezes send the message that the company is failing. Employees want job security, and many take pride in a company that does well, in part, as a result of their efforts. Hiring freezes give the impression that the company is struggling, with no room for growth, which may cause your top performers to start looking elsewhere.
  • • They lead to rash decisions when they’re over. If your staff has been struggling during a hiring freeze, the stress and frustration could lead them to making rash hiring decisions as soon as it’s over, rather than taking their time to find a truly good fit for the position. They might also need to hire several employees, reducing their ability to focus on individual positions.
  • • You’ll miss out on great talent. If you’re in a hiring freeze, the best talent in your industry won’t bother trying to find out if you might make an exception—they’ll be knocking on your competitor’s door, which puts you and your team at a disadvantage.

If you’re looking for quality talent to support your business, Award Staffing can help you find the right candidates. Reach out to us today to get started.

Bad Advice Job Seekers Should Stop Taking

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When you’re looking for employment, everyone close to you will weigh in on the best way to do it. Our job seekers have told us all kinds of advice they’ve heard from well-meaning people about networking, resumes, interviews and more. Your friends, family, and colleagues are all trying to help, but there are certainly some recommendations that you are better off avoiding.

Here are some of the advice we wish our job seekers would stop taking – and what we’ve found works instead.

“Networking is ineffective and fake – avoid it.”

Networking is a difficult and uncomfortable process for many people. It can be awkward talking about yourself, especially when you are trying to market your skills and your experience. Some people dismiss this as being “fake.” However, this could not be further from the truth. You are presenting yourself as a potential asset to a company or a future colleague. When you sit down at a networking meeting, flexible icebreakers such as, “I’d love to hear about your professional journey, would you mind taking me through it?” can ease the pressure and open the conversation.

“Add buzzwords/more skills/more info on your resume.”

Your resume will catch a recruiter’s eye and give them a broad picture of your background, skills and experience. However, it’s just a small bit of the process. Endlessly tinkering with your resume can leave you feeling disconnected from the process. Your job search should encompass more than staring at your resume and looking for holes. Strategizing, reading job postings, networking, keeping up on trade news and keeping tabs on LinkedIn are just a few of the other tasks to which you should be devoting time.

“End your cover letter with follow-up time.”

A lack of feedback on applications can be frustrating. However, ending a cover letter with, “I will call you next week,” is not the way to break out of this rut. Rather than showing initiative and spark, it can make hiring managers think that you are entitled and inconsiderate of their process. Recruiters are professionals, and they know who is and is not a good fit for roles. Badgering them with unwarranted follow-ups is not the right way to get on their radar.

“Stick to your training/education.”

This is one of the most destructive pieces of advice that acquaintances can give. Just because you studied HVAC doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go for that customer support position. Your career is just that: yours. What you were originally interested in is not a blueprint for the rest of your career. Your skills and interests will evolve, and you should always feel empowered to pursue a route that is right for you at that time.

Avoiding bad advice is a key part of any job search. When you trust yourself, you will be far more likely to wind up in a career path that is agreeable and fulfilling.

Looking for some helpful career advice? We can help you at Award Staffing! Visit one of our upcoming hiring events so that you can find your future.