You’ve put it off as long as you can, but now you have to hire. Until now your team has handled it all, with a little help here and there, but it’s just too much to manage by yourself. You have too many fires to put out; you need more people, good people, to handle some internal conflicts brewing, benefit and/or compensation requests, compliance (and you could use some help with strategic planning as well).

Maybe, you have to hire a human resource professional to help you with your growing company. Or maybe, you need to replace an HR professional that has left.

How to Interview Someone in the HR Industry

Ideally you want the person that is going to come in, read your mind, make your life easier and can be trusted. Anyone that you interview should be minimally qualified, so let’s assume you’ve jumped that hurdle. Now unless you’re clairvoyant, you’re going to need some help asking the right questions to determine who has the passion, the desire, and the guts to be the best candidate.

Here are a few of my favorite interview questions and why.

1. What do you like about human resources? Why do you want to be an human resource professional?

We’re looking for passion, people! We want someone who loves the profession and is not just doing it for a pay check. We don’t want anyone mailing it in and getting complacent. We want HR innovators that want to use the latest trends to help achieve our goals.

2. Tell me about a time you made a mistake and what was the resolution and outcome?

I love this question because it’s really about accountability. You need someone that is not afraid to be honest about past mistakes and the corrective actions that they took to ensure it does happen again, the lesson learned. We know that everyone makes mistakes at work. No one’s perfect; so if the candidate says, “ I don’t make mistakes, or I can’t think of any, or I have so much experience that I don’t make mistakes” –  that’s a FAIL. What I’m hearing is, “I am too stubborn and self-conscious to admit that I’ve made mistakes.” So there’s your mistake, pretending as if you don’t make them! If they do give a specific example, listen very closely to how the interviewee overcame the example mistake; this will tell you a lot about their resilience and problem solving ability.

3. What are some of your weaknesses? What are your strengths?

Again, I’m looking for introspection and self-evaluation. This is a very standard interview questions across all positions. I don’t want to hear that you have no weaknesses because that’s a lie. How an interviewee talks about their own weaknesses will give you an idea about how he or she will talk about company weaknesses. The same idea applies when you listen to his or her strengths. You want someone that can inspire pride but be wary of a long unrealistic list of feats that makes one wonder why this person is even in the job market. He or she may be giving you the run around. Look for someone level-headed.

4. What do you look for in an organization and team dynamic?

Personally I like this question because the answer helps me to know what kind of employee you’re going to be. No one wants to be micromanaged but there must be a level of accountability. You must be able to work alone or under the pressure of a deadline without flaking out. You want someone that can be trusted to complete tasks and make decisions without too much coddling.

See also:

• 10 Most Common Illegal Interview Questions
• Identifying the 10 Soft Skills of a Great Intern
• Most Important Job Interview Question – “When Have You Failed?”

So now I got to tell you my least favorite HR interview questions. And these have actually been asked of me or I’ve heard someone ask them. Don’t be a victim to this kind of interview bias.

1. What person living or dead would you most like to have dinner with?

How about yo momma (don’t say that candidates)!  Nevertheless, this question bothers me because it leads the candidate to a place where they could be discriminated against. You want to stay away from entertainment icons, religious leaders and athletes. For instance you may think of Jesus Christ or Elvis Presley or Michael Jordan, but it just so could happen that the interviewer doesn’t like any of those leaders. Now you don’t “fit.” Candidates, if you get this question, I recommend going with a family member.

2. Tell me something that you probably shouldn’t tell me. 

Uh nothing! Just don’t see the point to this question. Again it leads the interviewee to talk about something inappropriate like, “There are some primo chicks in here.” Candidates, consider steering the conversation back to something work related, such as, “I’m huge fan of Macs. What type of computers / operating systems does the office use?”

When interviewing a person for an HR position you want to make sure you are looking someone who has a passion for HR because that minimizes the risk of them getting frustrated and quitting. You want someone who is knowledgeable and resourceful. You want someone who relies on skills just as much as experience, because things change quickly and you need someone who can adopt and is open-minded. Sometimes people with a lot of experience become entitled know-it-alls unwilling to learn new concepts or strategies (think social media, HR). Hiring decisions are costly, especially for a small growing business you want to be certain that you make the best choice available.

Hope this helps, what questions would you ask – or not ask – when hiring someone for your HR department?

For more information on how to interview.

Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who blogs and dispenses great (not just good) advice at Cost of Work. Connect with Chris via email at chris@costofwork.com.

If you search “all in one” online, you will see a lot of technology and office equipment listed under the results because those products simplify our lives. I remember the old school photocopier days when you could not print, scan and fax from one machine – thank goodness for innovation. 

When you think about some of your favorite “life changing” gadgets, you think of your smartphone, right? That’s because smartphones are more than phones, actually we text, tweet, chat, and post on social media with them more than we actually talk on them. And what about the tablet, hailed as the 2nd greatest invention of the 21st Century by Oprah! If there is a product that can save time and enhance our lives then odds are we will love it.

In the world of work, there are lot of HR vendors and Tech companies who claim that they have a product that will simplify lives of the HR professional immensely. I get the solicitation emails and see the tweets from various start-up companies who say they have just what you need to order to be a more efficient. You’ve seen the acronyms ATS, CRM, TMS, TQM, ERM, and all of that other b.s.

Q: What’s the number one thing every company needs? A: Talent!

How do you find it (as in where are the talented workers)? How do you attract it? How do you compensate it? How do you engage it? How do you retain it?

It’s all about the talent. And many of the problems that companies have to deal with regarding talent can be solved during the candidate experience. That’s the very beginning of the relationship: the way you respond to their application, phone call, LinkedIn message, tweet, Facebook post or comment – however you interact with the potential candidate, that’s when the candidate experience begins. As soon as you contact them, they are assessing you as an employer, just as you are assessing them as a candidate. I like to call this the corporate courting phase because at this point both parties are excited but any little thing can mess it up, just like real life dating.

There are so many pieces to talent management that there needs to be an all-in-one system to help you track and manage all of these wonderful people. Recently I spoke to a group of HR and Recruiting friends about their systems. Most said that their systems did not match up well with the new social recruiting trends of today and unfortunately they were locked into contracts and could not upgrade. They also talked about the need to have a consistent view from one screen to the next when sharing profiles or applicant data.

It’s sad but there are still tens of thousands of companies who do not have a versatile and flexible system at all, many still use Excel. Then some companies have too many systems and what ends up happening is the boss uses one, while the rest of the team uses another.

Real recruiting is not about blasting jobs over all social networks and waiting for resumes to fall in. No, real recruiting takes skill and a strategy. Social media is a big part of recruiting with over 90% of companies reporting that they will use it in some fashion but understanding the demographics, strengths and weakness of the various platforms is equally as important. Recruiters rely heavily on analytics to be successful. They have to track and analyze the cost per hire, time to fill, advertising budget, hire rates and run reports.

How awesome would it be to have an all-in-one platform for that? You can, it’s called the Hiring Success Platform.

After looking at SmartRecruiters new recruiting platform, I asked 4 different HR leaders, who were on different systems, the following questions:

• How many systems would your team have to use, If you needed a report to show all of your open positions in the last 30 days?
• Where the jobs were advertised?
• How long were they open?
• How many candidates applied?
• How many people were interviewed?
• And how much did you spend in recruitment marketing?

Back in the day, we had Microsoft Excel and had to manually enter data into the spreadsheet. So in my opinion this new platform is pretty amazing, but I wanted to do some research and get some other opinions, that’s when I asked those HR friends I mentioned above, here are their responses to all those recruiting questions.

Director of HR for a medium sized company in the healthcare industry with 800:

“Probably two or three systems. Definitely not one. We are also using more social channels to attract talent; things like Twitter and Instagram. Those contacts are a little harder to track sometimes.”

Manager of Recruitment and Talent Acquisition for a government contractor with 17,000 employees:

“We would need three or four systems to access that kind of information. To have all of that data is one place would save a lot of time and money. We researched new systems in the past and most of them were limited so we decided to stay with what we had.”

Manager of HR for a large industrial manufacturer with 800 employees:

“We would need two systems, one for candidate data and one for cost analysis. A new system would have to integrate with our enterprise company-wide and until now we have not been able to find a solution. But obviously, having all of that information in one place is a huge advantage.”

Recruiting Manager with an industry leading frozen food manufacturer:

“We seem to have a different system for everything but probably three systems to get all that information. And we don’t really track referrals in the best way. Our workforce is aging so we have not invested too much in the social side of things but we have forecasted it for the future.”

Looking at those responses and you will notice in most cases the recruiting analyst would need to access at least two systems – maybe three – and there seems to some uncertainty.

SmartRecruiters‘ new system blew me away, it is much more than an ATS, this is a total candidate recruiting platform designed to make every aspect of the application process and candidate experience easier, more efficient and more integrated. Quite simply, one place for your entire recruitment report. All in all, SmartRecruiters has created a user friendly recruitment platform with the everyday recruiter in mind that’s well…smart.

What makes a great career site? Hmpf. Well a career site is an employment site with job opportunities that answers, ‘Why work together?’ Most of all, it’s helpful to think of it as a marketing landing page to convert talented people interested in working with your company. So what makes an awesome career site?

1. Optimized for mobile: mobile’s approximately half of internet traffic… do you want to lose half your candidates right off the bat?

We know that internet users chose to access the net via their mobile device; there are more mobile devices in the world than people. Everyone is handling business on the go. Desktops are being replaced because of convenience, functionality and efficiency. This means the career site has to be optimized for and designed to accommodate tablet and smartphone users.

2. Rich Media: A picture says a thousand words… and a video has thousands of pictures.

We know that content that visual images receive as much as 90% more engagement than content without pics or vids. Visually stimulating and pleasing images helps to drive traffic and define your company culture. So we know the site needs to have cool pictures and or videos of employees and your work environment. You could even have employee testimonial videos explaining why they love working for you. You can even have the CEO give a brief greeting, then explain the company’s mission statement, but keep it short.

3. Social Media: Where you pass the background check and/or keep the conversation going.

We also know the average web-surfer has an attention of about a minute. If a user visits your site and cannot find what they are looking for within 60 seconds, they will leave and not return. Everything – perks, benefits, mission and opportunities – on the site should be easy to find and read.

We know the site must have cool features.  The world is becoming more “techy” and social and recruiting is a very “techy” and social business. Both recruiters and jobseekers like to use social networks to search, share and connect. This means the trust of your career page messaging is also dependent upon your company social media pages. Don’t be afraid to provide links to your social media pages on your career pages, but make sure the link creates a new tab so the visitor doesn’t leave your career page.

4. User-friendly: make your offerings transparent and accessible.

We know people like things that are easy and simple to use. Let’s make sure navigation is easy. Most sites have the “careers” option buried at the bottom of a dropdown menu. If the goal is to show potential talent your company and allow them to search open positions, then why not make the “careers” or “employment opportunities” hyperlink prominent?  Next the search mechanism should be as easy as entering your location and/or job type, then the visitor sees relevant opportunities. The job search criteria should be easy to select departments and positions based on the skills and types of job duties the user is looking to pursue.

Additionally, make your copy aspirational. For example, MapQuest quickly creates trust and aspiration with this copy on its career page: “If you’re up for a challenge and have the hunger to be part of potentially one of the greatest turnaround stories in the tech industry, MapQuest is the place for you.”

5. Talent is Busy: Reduce the time it takes to express interest in you.

One of the biggest complaints from job seekers is regarding the time it takes to apply for a job. It can take 30-45 minutes for a single application! Job seekers are extremely frustrated with this and all of the different recruiter’s networks they must join to apply for a position on a job board. In order to set your career site apart from the competition, give the user two or three simple options to connect – like their LinkedIn profile, public Facebook profile or uploading of a resume. If you have assessments included in your application process, consider moving them further down the recruitment funnel, or at least streamline them so they are not as long and drawn out.

Great candidates are paying attention to all the resume and job search advice out there. They expect an engaging work environment, a great company culture and an efficient application process. Careers sites make up over 23% of all applicant hiring decisions, 2nd only to referrals. Today’s applicants expect companies to be innovative and to treat them well and it all starts with your career site.

Related Resources on Creating Great Career Pages:

1. Delight Candidates at Every Step
2. Join the SmartRecruiters Family
3. Career Pages That Work 
4. Video Marketing Strategy & Employer Branding
5. How to Create Customizable, Multi-Language and Mobile-Responsive Career Pages Without IT Resources

In this recruitment series, we’ve how to teach a recruiter to fish and the importance of farming talent. Now let’s take it a step further with Hunting for Talemt.

Once you’ve identified the type of talent you want and need, it becomes a matter of getting that talent in your organization. By developing recruitment, engagement and retention programs you are putting your company ahead of the curve. However, no process is 100% effective. What that means is no matter what you do at some point you will need new employees; it’s called “turnover.”  Even the best companies lose top performers. That’s where Recruitment Hunting comes in, think of it like a sport. Your company has to be ready to find and “bag” the big one.

The trick is to minimize or mitigate the likelihood of missing the big one. So how do you do that? Another way to increase your chances of gaining the best of the best is to actively pursue them. Knowing where to hunt and look for the best candidates is very import. You must also understand the whereabouts, traits, and movements of top talent. Having a great website is awesome, taking care of your current employees is excellent, but none of that helps you if you don’t present at the right time.

Recruitment Hunting differs from Recruitment Fishing; not only do you have to figure out where the top talent is but you have to make contact and close them. Yes in some cases you can’t wait for top talent to discover you, you must make the first move. Here’s an example, I had a resume client who took a job with a high profile company as their Social Media Director and a few weeks later a major company sent him an inbox message via LinkedIn. The wanted to poach him from his new employer, not only were they farming (previously connected) but they were hunting! They knew his skill and wanted him to be part of their team. This is known as employee poaching or talent raiding and companies rely on this all the time, especially in highly competitive industries of technology, marketing and business development.

I am not suggesting you create a strategy that necessarily lures talent from competitors but I am suggesting that you use LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, professional development associations, colleges, job/career fairs and referrals to track and hunt your most desirable candidates. Knowing where top talent grazes is not easy but it’s definitely doable. 

One of the biggest problems in war for talent today is compensation. Many companies want top performers with skills and education however they do not want to pay for them. Salary offers are incredibly low in the job market. According this article from The Press Democrat which sites reports from the Department of Labor and the Bureau of Labor Statistics that jobs are back but salaries are down. In order to execute big-game-talent-hunting, you have to have an industry leading compensation and benefit package along with a great brand message and recruiting strategy. 

Top talent is more aware of their value then others in the job market. Not only do you they visit your company website but they investigate your culture on social media. They look at your LinkedIn accounts, Facebook pages, and interactions on Twitter. If they cannot find examples of your social reputation capital they may not want to be part of your company. If they cannot determine the type of organizational culture and employee engagement at your company, they will hold out for a better fit. 

Recruitment Hunting is easier when there is a mobile recruiting strategy, opportunities for advancement, awesome compensation, great culture and innovative products – this simplifies the recruiting sales pitch to top performers. Unlike sport hunting you cannot simply hunt down the big one, shoot it, tie it to the hood of the car and go home. You have to convince potential employees that you are the best place for them – you have to sell your company, so bet big, go all in and good luck hunting. 

The farming industry, just like many others, has changed a lot of the years. The basic principles are the same; plant the seeds, water the plants, collect the yield and sell to the public. However farming is not that simple. There are many things that could affect the crops which are out of the farmer’s control, primarily the weather. Farmers anticipate the changes in the climate in order to know when to plant and harvest. Previously, we taught a recruiter to fish, and now, we are going to examine recruitment farming: from seed to hire.

Farming is the way we sustain life on this planet. There are many people who rely on farming because they maintain a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. Having supplies and sources of organically grown, natural, plant based foods allows for a healthier society.

Just as farming is vital for us to survive, recruiting is vital to an organization’s survival. It has been said that recruiting is the most important function of human resources; without recruiting a company will not have the people it needs to provide the services, products and goods necessary to be successful. Similar to farming, having a sustainable talent pool is critical to overall success of the organizations’ lifecycles. Without harvesting there is no hiring. 

Think of a major league baseball team. They have a multiple farm teams (A, AA, AAA) to develop their own talent and acquire new talent that can hopeful make an impact on their major league team someday. Within the MLB, teams are making thousands of trades and waiver claims each year. Each team wants to be known as organization that players would be honored to play for.

Companies must have all the tools to create a robust farm system of talent and that includes a holistic approach to the candidate experience. The candidate experience is the process in which potential hires are treated through the recruiting cycle. It truly begins whenever one learns about your company; think of your seed as the moment a potential hire learns about your brand. What type of plant can that seed become?

Once an applicant submits their resume to the company, you are entering candidate relationship management (or CRM).  A lot of touchpoints impact a candidate’s decision; that includes the follow-up email, phone screening, face to face interview, salary negotiation, and the job offer. Most candidates are somewhat sensitive and the slightest mistreatment can cause disengagement and generate bad word of mouth for the company. 

There are many types of tools to help, a platform like SmartRecruiters will store a database of all candidates in the history of the company. As you can imagine CRM and the candidate experience are part of the farming processes, however there is one more component: cultivation. You don’t want to forget about your existing employees.

You need to know who could happily step into a leadership or accept additional duties. Companies should also be looking for new talent and thinking about how to replace talent if necessary. Internal recruiting is final piece of recruitment farming.

Once you develop your recruitment strategy you can define your company culture and incorporate that into your company website, app and career page. First you widen your funnel by marketing a great employer brand. Next, you create the process in which candidates are treated from expression of interest to hire. And finally, once they are employees, the talent management continues by keeping them engaged with opportunities to grow into future roles.

That’s how to grow your recruitment farm. 

When you think of fishing you probably think of a small boat, cargo shorts, a rod, some worms and cold beer. Usually fishing is a leisure activity for most of us who simply use it as a time to relax and hangout with family and friends. But of course there are levels of fishing from novice to professional – big-game-fishing. But did you know there are similarities between fishing and recruiting?

Fish are a healthy food source – there is no doubt about it – but nevertheless some fish are better for you than others. I’ve always heard that catfish are the worst fish to consume. The reasons are simple, catfish are what they call bottom feeders, and they eat off the bottom of the ocean, lake, river or creek. Bad things tend to settle at the bottom of open water sources and this is where you’ll find catfish.  

Catfish aren’t the only ones eating from the sea floor, shrimp are also bottom feeders. Shrimp are crustaceans; they are delicious but high in cholesterol. In practice, both catfish and shrimp are often deep fat fried and served with tarter and cocktail sauce to bring up their flavor profiles. However salmon is one of the healthiest fish, that and albacore tuna. They have tons of flavor and nutritional benefits.

You may be asking yourself what the heck does this have to do with a recruiting? The answer is, a lot. Catching the right fish is analogy that we use for many things like finding the right mate or the right candidate to join our company. You have most definitely heard the term, “There are plenty fish in the sea”? Well the same goes for talent. There are over 3 million open positions in the U.S.A. right now and 75% of the U.S. Workforce are active job seekers. With recruiting, just like fishing, you have to provide bait at the right time in the right place to find the right fish.

What bait are you using? Where are you fishing? Seasoned fishermen/women understand that if they are trying to catch bottom feeder they will have more success by using a net at the bottom of the water source. But if you want a healthier fish, like salmon or tuna, they aren’t found at the bottom of the ocean and you must know where to look for them. Both are found in colder waters supplies, so you have to source differently if you want to catch them. You can’t simply drag the bottom of the ocean, salmon migrate up stream, so you have the anticipate the migration routes. It’s about knowing what the market expects to do; it’s about anticipating where you’ll get a catch. 

As an organization you have to plan an effective recruiting strategy much like fishing. Remember when you are creating your job descriptions and placing your job advertisements, if you want a better candidate pool. You can’t go scrapping the bottom of barrel and expect a healthy, well rounded and happy workforce. You must identify the type of employees you want (salmon, catfish, tuna, shrimp) as part of your company goals and then design the best plan (bait, location, technique) to reel them in.  

Recruiting is one of a company’s biggest challenge today. How to recruit properly and attract the best talent available. Even the battle tested human resource professionals are having a difficult time finding skill workers to fill open positions. For as hard as it is to acquire new employees, it’s just as hard to keep them. How can a business afford to lose its most valuable assets?  Most of the war for retention can be won during the recruiting process, and here’s how!

Let’s start at the beginning. If you position your company as a desirable workplace you can help increase the likelihood of your employees sticking around for a while. This means you should use your job descriptions as vehicle to spread your brand messaging.  If your application process is interesting, engaging and advertises a “fun and interesting” company culture then employees will want to work for you.

Take Uber  for instance. They’re an up and coming company with job postings that actually say things like they are looking for someone who can support their “Holy Awesome-sauce” service.  Believe it or not just interjecting non-traditional phrase like that into their job posting excites many job seekers. That excitement translates into higher retention because they are reaching those candidates who fit their style and really want to work for them.

In addition to awesome job postings, the actual application process should also be engaging. What does that mean? Well maybe by explaining what’s wrong with most application processes you can better understand how to make yours better. The biggest problem with today’s job application process is it takes entirely too long. The average online job application takes anywhere from 25 – 40 minutes. Forget about employee retention, applicants won’t stick around for that – not in this day and age.

A Recruitment Process That Increases Candidate Engagement

An applicant should be able to apply to your open positions with a share of their LinkedIn profile or download of their resume, and maybe, a few assessment questions. Yes, candidate assessments can help you win the battle for top talent and retention. Assessment can increase their retention rates substantially.

Next, is the interview process. Just last week I had two clients who I’ve helped with their resume credentials tell me that they interviewed for jobs that they would probably take but wouldn’t stick around. The reason is they didn’t like the way they were treated during the interview. Don’t mistreat your applicants or they will tell their friends, social shame you on the internet and your chances of consistently landing top talent will be ruined.

Your interview process can make or break your candidate experience. Be sure to have a collaborative interview process which allows the applicant to interact with various personalities, giving them more insight into your culture fit. It also allows them to see where they can fit within you team.

You should also try being super nice and accommodating during the interview process. Be sure to greet them upon arrival, offer a nice firm handshake and maybe some refreshments. I know that sounds simple and obvious but I have several real life examples of candidates arriving for an interview and were ignored for several minutes. There was even a situation in which a candidate was early, and the employer said, “You’re too early.” They had to wait and when the interviewer finally arrived they did not shake their hand. In fact they didn’t shake hands at the beginning nor the end of the process. Every step of the way, you must be acting in a way that increases the candidate’s engagement to your company. According to betterworks, creating engagement will drastically strengthen retention:

Another small thing that candidates pay attention to is if you walk them out at the end of the interview. Don’t just send them out and yell “next.” Walk with them, shake their hand and thank them for coming. Finally, following-up with clear expectations is also critical. Things happen during the hiring process which can delay the actual offer timeline. You need to be sure to keep your candidates updated as frequently and honestly as possible – again, this candidate experience is creating the impression of how you are as an employer; it will impact retention.

The bottom line is if you bring them in right, you stand a greater chance of keeping them. The way a company treats their employees is very valuable when it comes to talent acquisition, disengagement, turnover and retention.  Take it from me, I talk to a lot of job seekers and the number one reason they look for new jobs is because of poor treatment and many times that poor treatment goes back to day one.

Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who also helps job seekers write great resumes and blogs. His work can be found at ResumeCrusade.com & CostofWork.com. 

SmartRecruiters is the only platform that managers and candidates love.  

Here are a few recruitment tools for the smart HR professional and recruiter:

1. Email Templates.

For job seekers emails are still the preferred communication medium, which means this is a viable tool for the hiring team.  company leaders want to make sure they offer consistent and on message communication with candidates. This doesn’t mean that you team shouldn’t ever deviate from the template, but empowering your hiring team to communicate faster and on message can go a long way.

2. Targeted Job Advertising.

There no shortage of job boards out there. You have the major players; Monster, CareerBuilder, GlassDoor, SimplyHired, Indeed and LinkedIn as well as tons of niche boards. The smart HR pro needs to know which job board targets the type of talent you need. With predictive analytics, you can have an estimate of the quantity and quality of candidates from each source – before you actually post the job opening.  Be selective and strategic, the right people will find you.

3. Sourcing Analytics.

I know. I get it. Numbers suck. Most of us don’t like balancing our checkbooks let alone the efficiency of recruiting strategies. It doesn’t have to be a pain. For instance, Souring Analytics can do all the work for you, and by work, I mean calculating cost per hire, average applicant, average hire, open rates and average amount spent per applicant. You need to know how much you are spending where, and what the ROI is, if you want to be a smart HRO pro.

4. Candidate Assessments.

There is a lot of debate about candidate assessments. Some companies do not find them valuable however I think it depends on the assessment provider. You want assessments that can be customized to your best fit your business needs. Candidates don’t mind taking a short assessment test that is engaging and fun in order to qualify for a job. They will abandon the assessments if there are too many questions like the ACT or SAT. Find a nice assessment play that is flexible and customizable. This will help increase the quality of candidates which could affect retention rates as well.

5. Social Media.

Recruiting, Branding and Social Media are all connected, and must be used to help promote your culture and recruit talent. There are a lot of ways to practice social recruiting. You can start by sharing your culture and your job openings on Facebook and Twitter. Social media is an essential way to spread your employer branding throughout the world. Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Instagram are great ways to promote your culture, increasing the demand to work for you.

It’s easy to get comfortable recruiting the same ole way but the world is changing –  competition is increasing. You owe it to yourself and to your company to always be striving for new, smart ways to bring in the best possible talent available, so try some of these great recruiting tips and as always – you’re welcome folks.

Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who also helps job seekers write great resumes and blogs. His work can be found at ResumeCrusade.com & CostofWork.com. Photo Credit Lachlan Doland flickr.

SmartRecruiters is the only platform that managers and candidates love. Check out the candidates tweeting about how easy it is to engage with SmartCompanies.

The candidate experience is the process in which you treat your applicants from the beginning, to the interview, the negotiation period, the training program, the onboarding process and it even covers the rejection process – yes the way you handle the reject applicants is just as important as the way you treat the ones you accept. Today social media word of mouth and sharing can ruin your reputation, so if you treat applicants poorly, the good ones will not apply to your company and you will get 2^nd or 3^rd tier talent.

Recently read a great article, “Where did the ‘Human’ in Human Resources go?” It’s the story of an HR professional who is now on the other side of the process looking for a job. The experience is eye opening to say the least.

For awhile now, I have understood that my strength as an HR consultant was that I have an objective view of our “so called” processes and procedures. Meaning, I knew from experience that the job processes that most HR practitioners and recruiters promoted as simple and easy, where actually cumbersome and frustrating.

HR pros need to actually apply for a job with their own companies in order to see if it’s as easy as they thought.

There are certain big brands who have such a positive reputation that they don’t have to invest in the candidate experience yet they do, because they know how important it is to their culture and business model. Think about companies like Disney, Pixar, Microsoft, Apple, Samsung, and Facebook. They are all big names and they have no shortage or applicants per open position. Maybe you’re not as big as those guys but you can still treat your applicants as if you are.  It’s a fact that if a job applicant has a tough time accessing and engaging with your career site, completing the application or is treated badly during the process – they won’t continue it and they  will warn others.

If it takes 30 minutes to apply for your job – you will have a high abandonment rate and you won’t be happy with level of talent you receive.

In March and April of 2014, there were 192,000 and 288,000 jobs added respectively to the U.S. economy. They unemployment rate is down to 6.3%. What that means for you, is more competition for jobs. Jobseekers have options so they no longer have to spend all day applying for a job with you and your company and wait for around for a reply.

There are a few of you who have simple job application processes – a push of a button or a simple download of the resume. However way too many of you are still requiring too much information along with creating an account for some sort of recruiters/ATS network. If you put the candidate experience first you will see a more viable talent pool, better word or mouth and interest in your company and a smoother overall recruiting process – just try it.

Chris Fields is an HR professional and leadership guy who also helps job seekers write great resumes and blogs. His work can be found at ResumeCrusade.com, & CostofWork.com. Photo Credit Monica flickr.

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