My Headlines

hello

We have moved to Wordpress! Posted by Jason Links to this post The Recruiting Front Lines has evolved. At the beginning of the year, I changed jobs within my company, moving away from Outreach and Education, and into my new role as Director of Business Development. While I remain closely involved with our field activity, I am now more focused on strategic partnerships, social media, and the world of internet recruitment resources. As I have made this change, the focus of my blog content has also changed. Recently, I began to feel that many of the ideas I had for blog posts would not fit within the framework of The Recruiting Front Lines. This was a cause of some frustration, as I felt that I was either misrepresenting my content with the title of my blog, or that I was stifling my writing because I felt it didn't fit. To rectify this situation, I have created a new blog home, now on WordPress. I am still ironing out the wrinkles, but feel that it is far enough along that I can move all my past content, and begin posting all new content, at the new address. I would like to formally welcome everyone to come check out my new home at jasonblais.com. I can't wait to hear what you think! Best Regards, and Thank you for your time and attention over the past 18 months. Jason

Jan 23, 2009

RFL: Your Recruitment Advertising is Failing If...

I just can't hold it in any longer. Through dealing with hundreds of employers over the last few years, providing guidance and education on recruitment advertising and employment branding, I have become a rather tough critic of the job ads that I see. I've developed and presented programs on these topics to employers, providing very specific steps to build more effective postings and sharing data we capture from surveying job seeker. I can't tell you how many times the audience members have come up to me and told he how much they've learned and how they're looking forward to rewriting their postings, then a week or two later I see one of their ads online somewhere and it looks like this:


Mech engineer. 5 yrs exp. req'd, project management a plus. Competitive benefits and salary. Send resume to Human Resources, XYZ Company, 123 Commercial St, whoville, USA, or email to hr @ xyzcompany.com.
So, what's so wrong this ad? Here's just a cursory summary: abbreviations, "competitive benefits and salary", no contact person, a lack of key words, no discussion of perks, no content for culture or environment, no salary info, and no promotion of the company itself. I've come to understand that while creating a compelling and effective recruitment ad doesn't require any special talent or skill, it DOES take a little extra time, focus, and effort. So, in the midst of a busy day, it's natural for humans to neglect this activity.

So, after reviewing another swath of poor attempts that I have no doubt will fail to generate any quality candidates, I couldn't help but to jot down the following list. If you're not certain how successful your recruitment advertising is, here are some of indicators that your online recruitment advertising is FAILING.
  1. 1/3 or more of the applicants you receive are completely unqualified for the job you're trying to fill.
  2. More than half of the applicants you contact fail to return your call.
  3. Your ads are being opened fewer than 200 times in a week (no matter what the job is!).
  4. More than half of the people you invite for interviews are unwilling to work for the salary you're willing to offer.
  5. More than 1/3 of the people you make job offers to decline them.
  6. On average, your hires stay with the company less than 2 years.
  7. The onboarding process is getting longer and/or more expensive.
  8. No applicants come in when you aren't posting job openings.
  9. Your turnover rate is not decreasing over time.

That's where I'll draw the line for now. Poor recruitment advertising affects virtually every aspect of your business. Despite the advances and maturation of technology in our business processes, the foundation of sound businesses will always be your people. More time, care, and focus needs to be placed on identifying and attracting the right people, than choosing which equipment to buy, which vendors to work with, 0r even which property to buy. If you have better people than your competition, your company will be successful.

That's how it looks today from the Recruiting Front Lines!

Think some of those indicators are wrong? Did I miss any indicators that you feel are results of bad recruitment advertising? Share your comments here!

6 comments:

PaTan said...

Great posted and I agree with you. But for this shot ads may be because of advertisement cost?possible??

I like your blog I get to learn to know more here.
Would you mind if I follow up?
http://assistant-thailand.blogspot.com

Best regards,
Tan.

Jason said...

Thanks Tan! I'm glad you like my space, please feel free to come back often and share your comments.

jason

oakleyses said...

prada outlet, sac longchamp pas cher, nike air max, longchamp pas cher, nike roshe, nike free, jordan pas cher, michael kors pas cher, christian louboutin, oakley sunglasses, replica handbags, ray ban sunglasses, tory burch outlet, jordan shoes, ray ban sunglasses, tiffany and co, prada handbags, longchamp outlet, longchamp outlet, cheap oakley sunglasses, chanel handbags, ugg boots, nike outlet, coach outlet store online, kate spade outlet, nike free run, longchamp outlet, polo ralph lauren, christian louboutin outlet, polo ralph lauren outlet online, tiffany jewelry, gucci handbags, coach outlet, air max, burberry pas cher, replica watches, oakley sunglasses, louis vuitton outlet, uggs on sale, ray ban sunglasses, replica watches, christian louboutin uk, kate spade, oakley sunglasses, polo outlet, oakley sunglasses wholesale, ugg boots, christian louboutin shoes

oakleyses said...

nike trainers uk, hollister, coach purses, north face, true religion outlet, michael kors outlet online, lululemon canada, nike air max uk, ray ban pas cher, timberland pas cher, nike huaraches, converse pas cher, michael kors outlet online, michael kors, vans pas cher, true religion outlet, michael kors outlet online, new balance, mulberry uk, michael kors outlet online, michael kors outlet, guess pas cher, burberry outlet, hollister pas cher, sac hermes, michael kors, michael kors outlet, ralph lauren uk, nike roshe run uk, hollister uk, north face uk, ray ban uk, nike air max, oakley pas cher, abercrombie and fitch uk, nike air max uk, uggs outlet, burberry handbags, nike air force, michael kors outlet, true religion outlet, nike tn, nike free uk, nike blazer pas cher, longchamp uk, uggs outlet, polo lacoste, hogan outlet, sac vanessa bruno

oakleyses said...

babyliss, baseball bats, p90x workout, herve leger, montre pas cher, soccer jerseys, toms shoes, celine handbags, timberland boots, mcm handbags, gucci, bottega veneta, nfl jerseys, jimmy choo outlet, abercrombie and fitch, converse outlet, new balance shoes, nike roshe run, mont blanc pens, instyler, louboutin, chi flat iron, insanity workout, oakley, reebok outlet, ferragamo shoes, mac cosmetics, karen millen uk, wedding dresses, vans, ghd hair, beats by dre, asics running shoes, lancel, soccer shoes, juicy couture outlet, ralph lauren, supra shoes, nike air max, vans outlet, hermes belt, converse, hollister clothing, nike air max, ray ban, north face outlet, juicy couture outlet, hollister, north face outlet, valentino shoes

oakleyses said...

ugg, canada goose outlet, ugg pas cher, moncler, pandora charms, links of london, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, marc jacobs, louis vuitton, moncler, doudoune moncler, canada goose uk, swarovski crystal, moncler, canada goose, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, pandora jewelry, coach outlet, canada goose jackets, pandora jewelry, canada goose outlet, replica watches, pandora uk, moncler uk, canada goose, moncler outlet, louis vuitton, moncler outlet, canada goose outlet, moncler, canada goose, wedding dresses, louis vuitton, swarovski, ugg uk, louis vuitton, thomas sabo, hollister, louis vuitton

Jason Blais on FoxNews

Word Cloud for RFL

Wordle: The Recruiting Front Lines

Using Video to Reinforce Employment Brand