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Staffing Software & Social Media Are Your Tools… And Your Staffing Plan Is?

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recruiting software social media strategyPart of an effective approach in candidate searches today includes leveraging social media.  Social media can be even more effective if the data you gather from this channel is successfully managed with the right recruiting software or staffing software.

I talk a lot here about the importance of integrating social media and staffing and recruiting software because I understand how important this is to you as a staffing professional and Bond US is committed to helping you make the most of this capability. But integrating social media into recruiting software or staffing software isn’t the end-all-be-all of recruiting and staffing efforts.

If your staffing agency or recruiting firm doesn’t have a wide-reaching tactical approach in place, then no amount of Facebook business pages, Tweets or even the best staffing software will bring you any closer to the ideal candidate.

Social media and staffing software are just two of many hiring tools available to you.  Consider the following and learn how social and staffing and recruiting software enhance – but shouldn’t necessarily dominate – key recruiting or staffing tactics.

• Finding Candidates –  Regardless of the tools you use to find or manage your candidates, you still need to start with a specific candidate profile. Your clients want to know everything about candidates you find for them, from prior experience to what they do in their spare time.

First determine who your clients are looking for, then use social media and staffing and recruiting software to find them.

• Communicating With Prospects– Some of social media’s greatest strengths are its abilities to be used as communication and engagement tools. But before you engage, you first need to know what to express for the best results and social media is just one of many ways to determine this.

Reviewing jobs on career boards, you competitor listings – and even stories in traditional media outlets – will help ensure the conversations you enter into are focused just as heavily on the needs and interests of your candidates and clients as they are on your own staffing objectives

• Understanding Client Needs – Social media can serve as an important resource when searching for background information on companies.  Not only can you determine their size, location and employment needs, you can also discern corporate culture by way of that company’s social media presence.

But effective research also includes the traditional channels of word-of-mouth referrals and networking. Though the internet does reveal plenty of information about clients, face-to-face conversations are still the best when it comes to learning about their needs.

Use social media and staffing and recruiting software as just two of many tools to find, communicate with and understand clients and candidates – and more importantly shape your overall staffing plan.

5 Location-Based Social Media Tips For Your Recruiting or Staffing Agency

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Social media has given recruiting companies and staffing agencies a host of new ways to find the right candidates.  As a result, more firms today are leveraging staffing or recruiting software that integrates data from the biggest social networks – think LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

While it’s true that the biggest networks will hold the largest candidate pools, even more (and sometimes more job-ready) candidates can be found by exploring networks you may not have considered.

I’m talking about location based social media.

You’ve probably heard of location based social sites like Foursquare where users check-in to share their locations, activities and tips on special spots with others.

Leveraged correctly, these networks can become powerful staffing and recruiting tools.  Here are 5 easy ways to start:

  1. Find Candidates At Events – You’ve got a booth at a job fair or trade show and you want to attract candidates to come by.  You can keep track of candidate check-ins to the show and offer invitations for people to check out your kiosk.
  2. Provide Tips To Check-ins – Perhaps you represent a staffing agency that works with numerous candidates for temp hiring.  You can encourage prospects to check in to your location by offering valuable interview tips in return.
  3. Keep Track Of Your Competitors – Are people checking in with your competitors?  You can follow candidates’ traffic to your competitors and then encourage them to check out your location as well, i.e., “Searching for a job?  Check out Recruitment Solutions for the best job search options.”
  4. Engage Your Facebook Followers – Invite your fans to check in to your offices through Facebook Places, the network’s own location based check in application. Your Facebook business page updates can then draw attention to the buzz of activity surrounding your recruiting firm or staffing agency.
  5. Track Ideal Candidates – You’re looking for sports-minded candidates for your fitness equipment company client.  How do you find such candidates?  Try monitoring local fitness-oriented check-ins where ideal prospects might be spending time, such as rock climbing clubs or triathlon events.  Then let those candidates know you’re hiring.

And, of course, with the right staffing or recruiting software, you can integrate activity from each of these social channels seamlessly into efforts.

To learn more about how your recruiting or staffing agency can best take advantage of location based social media, and how our social media enabled staffing and recruiting software can help, contact us or request a free demo.

Facebook Timeline Changes: What Your Staffing or Recruiting Agency Needs To Know

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Just when you thought you had your staffing agency’s Facebook page in perfect order, they went and made you change it.

Whether you are a staffing or recruiting agency, a staffing software or services provider – or any type of firm in between – your company’s Facebook page has likely been upgraded to the new Timeline format.  And you are somewhere on the spectrum of ‘loving’ and ‘adjusting.’

Regardless of where you find yourself, there are some basic truths that are constant:

 

  1. Change is inevitable, especially in social media
  2. With the opportunity that comes with change comes the opportunity for mistake
  3. Social media – and Facebook – remain one of the strongest tools in your staffing arsenal

So how can you ensure you continue to use this tool effectively, maximizing new opportunities and minimizing the type of mistakes that will earn either derision from social-savvy prospects or a firm slap on the wrist from Facebook?

Start by referencing our list of Facebook Timeline mistakes to avoid and opportunities to take advantage of below:

Facebook Timeline Mistakes to Avoid

1. Wrong Size Cover Photo
From now on, you’re limited to one large banner photo across the top of your page.  So you need to consider what type of image best communicates your recruiting or staffing agency’s brand message.

The photo can be a graphic or an actual photograph – as long as it is sized 851 x 315 pixels.  Any other sized image will simply look ‘off.’  For your image, you may want to show a location beauty shot of your firm’s exterior or even repurpose branding elements from your website, as we do on the Bond International Software Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Wrong Size Profile Photo
Every time you post, you staffing agency or recruiting firm profile picture will appear with your updates, so it’s important to find an image that will still maintain quality in a smaller size — 180 pixels that will scale down automatically to a length and width size of 32 pixels.*

To avoid viewing problems with the smaller size and to give your company instant recognition, consider using your logo as your profile image.

(*Update – per an email I received from Facebook today, the new profile picture will be 160 x 160 pixels and will sit at 23 pixels from the left and 210 pixels from the top of the Page, starting April 26th.)

3. Adding a CTA to Your Cover Photo
Facebook does not allow a call to action on either your cover or profile photo.  Call to actions include but are certainly not limited to:

  • Contact information
  • Price or purchase information
  • Asks for ‘Likes’ or ‘Shares’

Instead, showcase your brand in a way that makes it hard for visitors to resist liking you or being moved to action. See a great example of this below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facebook Timeline Opportunities:

1. Take Advantage of Content Display Improvements
The Facebook team constantly refers to the site as a story-telling channel.  With expandable photos that can span across your Timeline with just a click, visitors can get a strong visual sense of your company’s unique story.

Complement those stirring images with the compelling and relevant content you’re already featuring and you’ll provide a powerful reason for fans to visit often.

2. Share Company Milestones
Another interesting add-on to the business Timeline is the Milestones feature.  This allows you to showcase the history of your company by posting important events that have occurred over time and to provide your visitors with a multi-pronged illustration of your firm’s effectiveness in placing candidates over the years.

And don’t limit yourself to milestones that have only occurred since Facebook was launched.  Remember, it all starts with the Model T:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To learn more about how your recruiting or staffing agency can best take advantage of the new Facebook Timeline updates, and how our social media enabled recruiting and staffing software can help you integrate candidate information from social profiles, contact us or register for a free demo.

Why are you wasting six seconds reviewing a resume?

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Time is money - save both with the right staffing software or recruiting softwareThat’s ten resumes a minute, 60 in an hour, and 480 in an eight-hour work day (assuming you actually spent all that time reviewing resumes). That’s what a recent eye-tracking study of recruiters by TheLadders.com concluded.

Sure, the study was obviously self-serving (TheLadders successfully showed that the resume formatting on their website was easier for recruiters to use than that of the profiles on LinkedIn). The observation is that recruiters and staffing coordinators charged with determining the “fit/no fit” of job candidates really don’t spend much time on reviewing individual resumes. In that six-second review, the average recruiter might be able to read seven, that’s SEVEN words – candidate name, title, company worked at, and maybe their last job start/end dates. Think you can read more? Test yourself here.

So, my question is, why are you wasting those six seconds reviewing a resume? You’re really not getting anything substantive about the candidate’s fitness for the job in six seconds, so why bother? After all, according to many, “the resume is dead” anyway (a Google search for that term came up with 56,200,000 hits). Profiles, such as those on LinkedIn, have really taken their place, at least for many professionals.

Nope, the reality is that your staffing software or recruiting software should be doing the grunt work for you of “reviewing” resumes. The data you’ve collected on candidates through all of your sourcing – including those “dead” resumes and through your social media channels – is the data pool you swim in most often. Then you plug in the criteria for the job and the software spits out a list of the most likely candidates that will fit the job opportunity. Then you set up interviews, present the candidate(s), fill the order/placement, bill the customer, and collect payments. Repeat for continued success as a staffing and recruiting professional.

I know I’ve over-simplified the process, but that’s the gist of it, right?

What I’m saying is that you probably shouldn’t waste those six seconds looking at a resume. If you’re not wasting time looking at resumes, think about how many more placements you might make using your recruiting and staffing software to find the most likely candidates. More importantly, you can work at what software can’t do – build relationships that help you better understand your customers and candidates and that in turn result in sales and fills. Then your software becomes an enabling tool to help you manage those relationships successfully.

Naturally, each of Bonds’ staffing and recruiting software packages can help you do that.

Plus, while Adapt, eEmpACT, and StaffSuite offer tools for the business of staffing and recruiting, each has its own specific feature/benefit sets, so I’m confident that one of them can fit the unique needs of your firm. Click or give us a call at 800-318-4983 to talk about how your staffing software or recruiting software should be making your life easier today. We’re here to help you stop wasting time and effort reviewing resumes – six seconds at a time.

Staffing Software with Social Integration Helps Uncover Diamonds In The Rough

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The sounds of businesses ramping up their employee hiring are all around us these days.  The improving economy has loosened purse strings and imbued companies with a spark of optimism.

This all leads to a ramp up in increased business for those in the staffing industry. Armed with the latest in staffing software and a large talent pool, recruiting firms and staffing agencies can find job seekers at every turn. However, are they finding the best candidates for the positions?

While firms may be ready to hire they may not be prepared to pay top dollar as they re-enter the employee-building business, so staffing companies need to search carefully to find the best candidate for the right price. Using top-of-the-line staffing software, staffing professionals can ensure that they are starting with the widest pool of candidates possible and narrowing them down to the closest matches for each unique position.

One of the most important additions to staffing software capabilities is social media integration. This software can record candidates’ online profiles at social media sites to offer a better understanding of their fitness for a job. Recruiters can also easily send job postings to their own social media accounts with little effort.

When a job order comes in, staffing software can help you sift through information from your entire pool of candidates to reveal the handful of people with the treasured skills your clients seek – diamonds in the rough, just waiting to be found. I’ll let you in on a little secret: There are some particular groups within the workforce that could be hiding people with treasured skills. If you can find them, they could be incredibly valuable for you and your clients.

Where to Dig for Diamonds

  • Recent Grads – There’s lots of talk about Generation Y and Z. Yes, they’re young but they are trainable, enthusiastic and ready to work for less than their older counterparts. They’re also well-versed and deeply-immersed in online and social marketplaces. Staffing and recruiting companies can develop specific strategies – including leveraging social media – to find the next crop of great employees.
  • Displaced Workers – Spotting displaced workers takes some knowledge of markets, both geographically and historically. Staffing software can help to find people that work or live, or used to work or live, in places that experienced heavy job losses in certain industries. Perhaps a potential candidate from a suburban town is working at a less-than-impressive banking job now after losing his position as a big-city mortgage broker in 2008.  Is he worth a second look?  You bet.  Don’t be distracted by the job the candidate holds now, look at the skills he’s most likely to possess.
  • Mature Job Seekers – It’s a fact that all of us will most likely be working longer into our future than we originally planned.  The good news is that those mature workers looking for a job have plenty of knowledge to share with companies.  Older can be better in terms of problem solving, confidence and leadership.
  • Military Veterans – Finding employees with military experience is incredibly easy using staffing software as it is a field that appears on nearly every employment application. As more servicemen and women return home, they’ll be looking for jobs in the private sector.  These Americans bring a number of positives to potential employees.  They understand commitment, discipline and teamwork.  Who wouldn’t want an employee who brings all that to the table?

When you automate your processes with the right recruiting or staffing software, you are able to invest more time into finding those unique candidates who really are diamonds in the rough.

You Can’t Ignore Social Recruiting Hyper Growth

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Still in doubt about whether your recruiting software has to interface with LinkedIn and other social media engines? Still wondering, in other words, if social media recruiting is right for your staffing agency?  Check out these numbers:

  • 89% of American companies use social media for recruiting.
    • 82% use LinkedIn.
    • 50% use Facebook.
    • 45% use Twitter.
    • 64% use more than one social media network.
  • 64% of those companies report that they’ve hired through social media in the past year.
  • 55% of those companies plan to invest even more time and money into social media recruiting.
  • 82% of American job seekers use social networks in their job search.
    • 35% use LinkedIn.
    • 75% use Facebook.
    • 40% use Twitter.

 

A few comments are in order.

The first is (I hope) obvious: being social media savvy is a must for staffing and recruiting professionals. Your competition is out there, candidates are out there, people in your network are out there, so you have to be there. Often – as in every day.

The second is also obvious: networking is still the #1 way to find good candidates. And social media is a superb tool for networking. Lunches, phone calls, coffee meetings, trade shows, and all of the other old networking tools are still important and, to some extent, irreplaceable. But social media is, I would say, the most important networking tool in your arsenal.

The last point: note the discrepancies between companies and users when it comes to Facebook and LinkedIn. To me, it seems as if companies are investing heavily in LinkedIn while the candidates are spending a lot more time on Facebook. Isn’t recruiting via Facebook an opportunity that isn’t being used as much as it can?

If you have a good answer to that last question, please leave a comment below. In the meantime, make sure that your staffing and recruiting software is hooked up to social media!

Last Chance To Register: Social Media Staffing & Recruiting Webinar

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As more recruiting and staffing companies explore the benefits of social media, we’re seeing more questions about how to leverage these channels to achieve staffing and recruiting objectives.  Today, we’ll offer answers.

Today – Wednesday, March 21st – from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, Bond US will provide insight that your staffing or recruiting firm can put to use immediately with the webinar, Social Media Tips And Tricks For Recruiting And Staffing.

You’ll learn such how using social media, integrated with cutting edge recruiting software, can help your firm achieve its staffing and recruiting objectives, by:

  • Getting word of your jobs out to more candidates
  • Creating a bigger online presence for your company
  • Demonstrating that your firm is “with the times”
  • Increase knowledge and exposure of your clients

Social media is a legitimate and powerful way to manage relationships with potential candidates and clients. The first step in leveraging this powerful tool is getting more comfortable by registering for this essential social media webinar.

Why Workplace Diversity Matters and How Recruiting & Staffing Software Can Help

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staffing software helps workplace diversityIn January of this year, the U.S. posted its lowest unemployment rate of 8.3% since February of 2009. Recruiting and staffing companies are proactively riding this wave in a contemporary fashion, turning to social media to find qualified candidates and adding recruiting and staffing software to streamline hiring processes. Now more than ever, they are seeking more diverse candidates.

Why this increased trend toward diversity?  A recent study found that diversity in the workplace has a positive influence on productivity, loyalty and even employee happiness.  Most importantly, though, companies made up of diverse workforces actually made more money.

The research conducted in Canada examined 100 U.S. and Canadian corporate diversity studies from 1991 to 2009.  One of the most striking findings was that while many companies put on a show of diversity, the firms that truly incorporate it into their culture and business practices see real results.

Translating this into hiring processes is an area where recruiting and staffing software can help.  By targeting multiple job posting channels and creating customized job templates, firms can not only find candidates from more pools of diversity, they can design screening processes that help discover a wider range of talent.

The resulting diversity of choice is key to both recruiting firms and their corporate clients’ success.  As the study’s lead author Kristyn Scott explains, “When you have an inclusive corporate culture, recruiting top talent becomes easier, group processes will be enhanced, which means employees are more likely to stay, which, in turn, increases the company’s bottom line.”

Competitive success within the hiring industry calls for solid strategic recruitment management in all areas.  Request a demo of recruiting or staffing software from Bond International Software.

10 Recruiting Pages on Facebook to “Like” (And Copy)

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If you are a recruiting firm that hasn’t yet adopted a social media strategy, now is the time to start.  Recruiting agencies everywhere are learning that success equals a combination of the best recruiting software and the canvassing of candidates through multiple social media channels.

Need proof?  A recent Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) study found that the swell of support and understanding of social media channels is growing within the industry:

  • 56% use social media sites to recruit talent
  • 77% of managerial positions are filled through social sites
  • 84% used social channels to find passive candidates

While LinkedIn was the resounding leader of social media networks used for recruiting (95%), Facebook came in second at 58%.  So we thought we’d take a look at how cutting edge recruiters are using the channel.  Here are 10 great Facebook pages we found where you can find news, candidates and inspiration for your own page:

  1. CareerBuilder – The granddaddy of them all with 154,000 likes and over 1,700 people talking about the page.  A great collection of links and news under the heading “Empowering people to find careers they love.”
  2. HR News — The latest topics within the recruiting industry, including such news as new mobile apps and the latest recruitment research.
  3. All in HR – HR management tips that cover the gambit of topics.  Learn everything from managing personnel in a rapidly changing world to the effectiveness of recruiting software.
  4. Job Magic – Anyone looking for help in learning how to use social media should “like” this page.  Loads of valuable resources and tips for established and start-up recruiting firms.
  5. Fistful of Talent – Probably the most active page of the group.  Lots of discussion on issues that affect the hiring and HR industries.
  6. Undercover Recruiter – The one page that compels visitors to act right off the bat.  Once you “like” their page, candidates get great job search advice.
  7. Recruiting Blogs – This page does a solid job of encouraging discussions with regular questions.  It’s a great example of using the element of engagement to draw more people to your page.
  8. LinkUp – This job search engine page is a prime example of how consistency in updates keeps followers coming back.  It offers regular links to helpful information for all types of job seekers.
  9. ERE – If you are looking for information on the latest conferences, seminars or best practices for the recruiting industry, this page will have everything your recruiting heart desires.
  10. Divercities – A page dedicated to the many diversified sections of the recruitment market.  A great place for those following employment news for special needs candidates.

Whether sharing the latest on what recruiters are discussing or the newest advancements in recruiting software or resources available for all professionals in the hiring industry, these Facebook pages share a few social media musts – they provide relevant information, they consistently refresh their content and they invite followers to engage.

Need more help in navigating social media for your recruiting business?  Read, 6 Steps To Grow Your Staffing Agency With Content Marketing.

Recruiting Software and More — 2012 Staffing Industry Executive Forum

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recruiting software - 2012 Staffing Executive ForumNeed a reason to attend the 2012 Staffing Industry Executive Forum?  Think about joining Bond US, the leader in recruiting software for this annual event that provides insight into the most important topics in the recruitment and staffing industry today.

Once again, Bond US is a returning Pinnacle sponsor to this year’s event which will take place at the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa in Las Vegas, March 13-16. The forum will kick off with a series of roundtable discussions on numerous topics on Tuesday, March 13 at 4:30 p.m., where Bond US Chief Marketing Officer Tim Giehll will monitor a discussion on the Human Capital Supply Chain.

Giehll introduced the concept of Human Capital Supply Chains to define the business processes and technology for planning, hiring, on-boarding and off-boarding a company’s human capital.  His presentation explains how Human Capital Supply Chains link business strategy, business performance, strategic workforce planning, staffing, on-boarding and off-boarding for improved corporate financial management and success.

The roundtable will cover the principles and practices of Human Capital Supply Chain functions as well as the details involved in creating Human Capital Financial reports.

During the following sessions, this year’s forum topics will also feature lively discussion on such hiring industry trending topics as:

  • The Economy – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
  • Back-Of-The-Envelope Valuation Of Your Staffing Firm
  • Beyond Shiny and New – How A Business Implements Social Media

In addition, presenters will cover the newest IT developments in the staffing and recruitment arena, including cutting edge technical advancements in staffing and recruiting software.

For more information on the Staffing Industry Forum, check out the Staffing Industry Conference Agenda.

To get a sneak peak at the latest staffing and recruiting software news, check the Bond US blog.