Can’t find the right candidate? Maybe they’re not looking?

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At Employment Office, we often are tasked with attracting candidates to seemingly impossible vacancies.  The challenges might be a remote location, a rare skill set or even a combination of the two but the results are often the same; we deliver a qualified talent pool to our clients and give them the transparency and choice they need to fill the role.

Our clients often remark that we’re using the same media they use (generalist job boards, local newspapers, etc.) but our results regularly surpass their own efforts.  One of Employment Office’s key points of difference is our ability to attract Passive Candidates.  This article will focus on the Passive Candidate attraction strategies Employment Office’s Recruitment Advertising and Marketing Specialists use regularly to deliver superior results.

What’s a Passive Candidate?

A passive candidate is not currently in the market for a new opportunity, either because they are already employed or because they aren’t looking for work. It is estimated that between 75% and 90% of candidates consider themselves “passive” which means that, at best, an advertisement on a generalist job board or in the positions vacant section of the local newspaper will only be visible to 25% of the total market while the remaining 75% are currently not looking for work and won’t ever know about your opportunity.

How do we do it?

Employment Office has a number or strategies we regularly use including LinkedIn targeted candidate searches, creative uses of newspaper advertising space such as advertorials and recruitment advertising in the news sections instead of the careers section and Eshots which is a product only available through Employment Office.

LinkedIn Targeted Candidate Searches

An upgraded LinkedIn account (monthly charges apply) will give you access to the world’s largest professional network.  With extremely powerful search tools, you are able to narrow down your candidate results via current and former employers, current and former job titles, location by postcode or town/city.  Once you’ve decided upon candidates you would be interested in hearing from, you can send them a personalised InMail message alerting them to your opportunity.

Creative Newspaper Advertising Options

While newspaper job vacancy advertising has consistently been dropping in terms of volume and return on investment over the past decade, many companies including Employment Office have employed print advertising in new or creative ways.  Advertorials in particular can be very effective.  A recent example of Employment Office employing this strategy included a paid article written by one of the newspaper’s journalists that focused on the career highlights of an employee and directly adjacent to the glowing article was a position vacant advertisement that directed prospective candidates to our client’s opportunity.

Advertising within the main news sections including Business or Sports is also a fantastic way to complement your active candidate attraction.  While only a portion of newspaper readers will peruse the Careers section, most or all will read the EGN and, when they do, they’ll see your opportunity.

Eshots – Employment Office’s Ace in the Hole

Through an exclusive partnership with the generalist job board, www.applynow.com.au, Employment Office has access to a database of registered candidates who have expressed their interest in future career opportunities that suit their requirements for employment.  The database includes candidates of all skill sets, everything from general labourers and retail professionals to CEOs and General Practitioners.  Employment Office will create a customised employer branded email template that highlights our client’s opportunity.  A key point of difference between this product and other recruitment alerts is that the message is very specific to your opportunity where the majority of other email alerts feature a large number of positions lumped together which forces you to compete for candidate attention.

If you’d like to learn more about Passive Candidate attraction, Employment Office has a team of dedicated recruitment specialists who are able to answer any questions you might have.  Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and call your Account Manager on 1300 366 573.

Three Things to Check Before You Hire

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Finding the perfect candidate for a position is a costly process in itself. While it is worth the time and money spent if you do find the right person, hiring the wrong person can cost businesses around two-and-a-half times the yearly salary of the employee in question.

To avoid this, here are three things we suggest you check in order to help you find the right person for the job:

Skills testing

After the initial interview, it is important to test the preferred candidate on the skills required for the position. There are a range of tests that you can ask your candidate to complete to check that their skills are up to scratch and are consistent with the skills listed on their resume.  One of the most common today is a computer literacy test, testing a worker’s competency on the Microsoft Office Suite.  Skill assessments are also available to test accounting awareness and skills, knowledge of particular software programs and typing speed.  Finally, there are a range of behavioural tests to test a candidate’s emotional intelligence and personality traits.

These skill tests do not have to be not the be-all-and-end-all for your favourite candidate. If you find that your preferred candidate’s skills in a particular area are not at the level ideal for the position, and you still want to get them into the business, you know that you will need to spend some time with them refining that skill, rather than being surprised later.

Reference checking

Many employers do not see the value in reference checking because they believe that if a candidate has this person listed on their resume, they do so for good reason: in confidence that that employer will not give a bad reference. Nevertheless, reference checking is a good way for employers to gain an insight into their preferred candidate as a worker and also to discover areas in which the candidate may have needed improvement. If asked, past employers are more likely to touch on a candidate’s area of weakness when they have given a generally positive reference.  Bear in mind that permission from the candidate to contact referees should be obtained, and these referees should be people that the candidate reported to in their most recent role.

Police checking

Police checking is not something that is required for every role. However, if you know that there are restrictions on working in your particular industry with a criminal history, conducting a police check on your candidate is imperative. Finding out later that the person you’ve hired has a criminal record and is no longer allowed to perform their role will result in a lot of wasted time and money, as well as disappointment on the part of the candidate as well as your business.

Some areas that require candidates to have a clean criminal record include teaching, childcare, law and correction, health, government roles, managerial positions, and public passenger services.

Hiring the wrong person for the job can result in a huge amount of your business’s money and resources going to waste. Taking the extra time to follow these three steps and find out the right information about the candidate means that you can be confident that you’ve hired the best suited candidate for you role.

Attracting Talent through Strategic Titles

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Rethinking the Job Title in your Advertisement: Attracting Talent through Strategic Titles

Attracting the right applicants is about much more than simply posting a job opening on a job board. You have to think about every aspect of the job description, and make sure that you’re implementing the best strategies to attract qualified talent.

Most employers have learned how important a quality position overview / job description is for ensuring great applicants. But what you may not know is that something as simple as the job title can have a drastic effect on who applies for a given position.

Why the Job Title Matters

When talent is looking for a new position, they aren’t simply looking for money. They’re likely also looking for all or some of the below:

  • An opportunity to grow, develop and progress
  • An acknowledgement that the company values the position
  • The appearance of status

Much of that information can be found in the title of the position, and if the title doesn’t speak to them or give them the impression that they will benefit from the position, they may not apply for it.

Titles Matter

For example, imagine an extreme example, where an employer was looking for a personal assistant that was willing to answer to their every need. If they advertised the job as “Paid Slave” no one would apply, because the title wouldn’t be anything of value.

It wouldn’t even matter if the pay was competitive or the position was directly in line with their goals and abilities. The title wouldn’t show them that the company values their position or that they have an opportunity for a strong resume builder.

Now, obviously that is an extreme example, but there are many ways that this same idea plays a role in day to day life. For example, perhaps you need someone to work in the marketing department and you advertise the title of “marketing assistant” without success. That may be because those with years of marketing experience may be turned off by the word “assistant.” Instead, you may want to consider advertising the position as something like “Senior Marketing Associate,” as that may provide you with more resumes from those that are intrigued by the title.

Titles for Skills

Similarly, perhaps you need someone with a specific skillset who wouldn’t normally apply to the position you’re advertising. For example, recently at Employment Office we worked with an employer that needed an office manager with bookkeeping skills. The title was “Office Manager,” and they received many interested applicants – but none of them had the skills they needed.

We recommended that they switch the title on the job description to “Senior Bookkeeper,” and suddenly they experienced a drastic shift in the quality of resumes. When the chosen candidate was appointed their job title within the business was still “Office Manager”, but for the purposes of external marketing and advertising, “Senior Bookkeeper” brought in applicants that were a far better fit the role.

Choose your Title Wisely

The job title you use for the job description says almost as much about the job as the position itself, and the words you choose will often attract very different applicants.

So if you’re struggling to receive the right applicants or looking for a competitive advantage with your job posting, consider the title that you choose both for the advertisement and for the position itself. You may find that a simple change can make a significant difference.

CEO hiring confidence at all time high

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The YPO Global Pulse Confidence Index has revealed Australia and New Zealand’s business leaders are at their most confident level since October 2010. Australian and New Zealand Chief Executive Officer confidence levels are also higher than their Asian counterparts for the first time in the history of the survey.

Tudor Marsden-Huggins, Employment Office’s Managing Director and Executive Member for YPO Queensland cites the combination of low interest rates, the weakening of the Australian dollar and the recent change of Government as the key contributing factors in the CEO confidence surge.

The Hiring Index was also at the highest level the survey has ever produced, indicating that the Australian and New Zealand employment market will begin to soften.  The positive results in the Hiring Index are closely linked with the fact that 71% of CEOs expect their business’ turnover to increase by at least 10% over the next 12 months.

In addition, nearly half (46%) of the CEOs surveyed said that business and economic conditions had improved over the past six months while a similar number (44%) expect economic conditions to improve even more.

The increased hiring confidence is converging with one of the most fruitful times of the  year to recruit candidates – the holiday season.  Candidates have an abundance of time to assess their current career situation and, importantly, a call to action, often in the form of a New Year’s Resolution.

Making the decision to recruit during the holiday season is a difficult proposition if you plan on managing the process yourself.  You probably have plenty of work to finish before you enjoy your time away from the office but you’ll still need candidates when you return.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you returned from the Christmas and New Year holidays with a pool of quality candidates ready for screening and interviews?

Employment Office can help.  What’s more, with our special holiday offer, you’ll receive more than $900 in additional advertising value including a free eShot targeted candidate database mail out which is an excellent way to attract passive candidates to your opportunity.  If you would like to learn more about how Employment Office can assist in managing your recruitment over the holidays, call 1300 366 573 and ask to speak with your account manager.

All I want for Christmas is a new job

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Why employers should kick-start recruitment in December

As employers around the country prepare to wind down their recruitment functions in the lead-up to Christmas, it’s a sad fact that many of them are missing out on a golden opportunity to access top quality candidates looking for a change of direction.

The truth is that December’s charms in the office extend far beyond Christmas parties and Secret Santa gifts.  The last weeks of the year are often the perfect time to nab a star recruit.

Managing Director of Employment Office, Tudor Marsden-Huggins, says there are a variety of compelling reasons for companies to recruit at year’s end.

“Job advertising hits a real low in December, with many businesses winding down their recruitment strategy, and planning to ramp things up again in January.  It’s a common misconception that job seekers aren’t in the market in December, however the opposite is actually true.

“Recruiting in December takes advantage of the fact that many top performers have a certain amount of down-time in in the last weeks of the year, whether that’s through taking annual leave or due to a decreased pre-Christmas workload,” he said.

By recruiting in December, employers are also more likely to have top candidates to themselves.  The misconception that candidates aren’t in the market for a new job at that time means competition is significantly reduced.

“The best time to recruit is when others are idle and when candidates are most receptive to a discussion about changing jobs.  This is even more important for smaller businesses who struggle to succeed when recruiting alongside high-profile competitors.

“A decade ago, the festive season was a dead period for recruiting, mostly because job advertising in newspapers was significantly reduced until the end of January.  The introduction of online job boards, and more recently, the move toward smartphone and tablet applications has meant December is no longer the wasteland it once was for jobseekers.

“Candidates are now checking job boards daily and receiving job notifications via email, Facebook and Twitter, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.  With ads appearing on job boards for up to 28 days, candidates can check for job opportunities at their leisure, including during annual leave.  It’s easy to send out your CV using Cloud-based software, so the previous drawbacks associated with recruiting during the Christmas/New Year period, such as being away from a computer, or not having access to job ads in your local paper, are greatly diminished,” Marsden-Huggins said.

There are other factors at play for candidates which may also provide some extra incentive to look out for new career opportunities in December.

“At the end of the year, many top performers take time to re-evaluate their current work and life situation and plan for the future.  Some may be wanting to get started early on a new year’s resolution, or perhaps the effect Christmas shopping and travel has had on their finances has made them look into a better salary.

“Whatever the candidate’s motivation, it’s clear that even though other areas of your business may be slowing down, December is definitely not a time to put your recruitment function on hold.  If you run a fast, clean hiring process, you can be making job offers before your competitors have even published their job ads in January,” Marsden-Huggins said.

It’s an Advertisement, Not a Position Description

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Our clients often ask why Employment Office’s online job advertisements that appear on Job Boards don’t include all of the information we include on their Recruitment Webpage.  While it might seem counterintuitive to not include every bit of information you have about the position on a job advertisement, in doing so, you run the risk of overloading your candidates with information and losing them in the process.

User research has shown time and again that candidates will quickly scan job advertisements until they find one that meets their criteria for new employment. For example, research conducted by the Nielsen/Norman Group found that the average web user spends only 10-20 seconds on any given webpage.  This means that you’ve got less than half a minute to grab your ideal candidate’s attention and convert their initial interest into an application.   Why then would you waste valuable copy lecturing your prospective candidates on the requirements and organisational expectations for your advertised vacancy?

At Employment Office, we offer a solution that will allow your Human Resources team to tick off on all of their compliance requirements while also providing a compelling advertisement to attract a high quality talent pool.

Our process involves preparing an Online Recruitment Webpage that fully informs your candidates about your organisation, the role and its requirements and also the benefits of the position and working for your organisation. The advertising copy is a heavily abbreviated version of the Recruitment Webpage that has been written with key search terms in mind and optimised for scan reading.  Key points including job title, main aim, and benefits are written in a bold font to immediately draw the candidate’s eye to the information they need to make a decision.

A candidate that scans an Employment Office advertisement will know the main function of your vacancy and the key benefits within 20-30 seconds and this is all the information they need to trigger a click on the ‘Apply’ button.

This process is one of Employment Office’s greatest benefits to the Human Resources professional.  You’ll receive a high quality talent pool of candidates that are fully informed about the position and excited to work for you, but what they’ll remember more clearly than anything is how quickly they were compelled to apply when they first saw your job advertisement.

Print advertising placement – Which is the right choice for your organisation?

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EGN print advertising placement vs Careers print advertising placement – Which is the right choice for your organisation?

In an ever-changing employment market, recruitment can be a challenging process. One of the biggest issues a hiring manager can face how to allocate their advertising budget. Many factors need to be taken into consideration when making this decision including what sort of candidates they wish to attract and what the best possible way of doing so might be. Placement of ads need to be positioned in a way that will capture the attention of the audience and maximise your chances of hiring the ideal candidate.

Employers generally have two options when advertising in print news. There is the Early General News (EGN) and the Careers section of a newspaper.  If your candidate is not actively searching for a job, the EGN section or an industry-specific section is a great way to go. The EGN news pages also include a dedicated environment in which to advertise executive positions. With a limited number of broadsheet advertising pages available, the news section is regarded as a premium and exclusive place for high-profile roles.  It also generally reaches an educated and affluent audience, who may potentially be interested in your advertisement. However, the biggest drawback for EGN is the high price point, although the result is much wider and high-quality exposure.

The Careers section of a newspaper is another great option as it attracts active job-seekers for a much lower price. Careers placement is also perfect for targeting a specific geographic location; this means your business won’t have to worry about paying travel expenses for candidates outside local areas. It is also a cheaper alternative to EGN as it allows for flexibility – if your recruitment budget is small, you can create an advertisement consisting of just a few lines to keep costs to a minimum. The careers section is perfect for attracting active job-seekers, while EGN advertising is likely to attract a passive audience.

Although print advertising is an integral part of the recruitment process, it is also important to keep in mind that it is only one component of an overall strategy for sourcing candidates. A single source strategy will only achieve limited results and you will find that the more ads you place across different mediums, the higher number of quality applications and wider pool of candidates you will have to choose from. This also applies to keeping your advertisement visible and refreshed in the public domain for as long as possible. Employment Office specialises in Recruitment Advertising strategies and can assist your organisation in putting together an effective recruitment campaign.

Bring Your Parents to Work Day

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Employment Office prepares for first Bring Your Parents to Work Day

Do you ever overhear your parents describing your job to family or friends and get the feeling they don’t quite understand exactly what you do for a living?

A recent survey conducted by online professional networking website, LinkedIn, has revealed that 35% of

parents aren’t completely familiar with what their child does at work.

In response to the survey’s findings, LinkedIn has declared Thursday November 7 as Bring Your Parents to Work Day, and is encouraging companies around the globe to roll out the red carpet for the parents of their employees.

Employment Office Managing Director Tudor Marsden-Huggins says the initiative is more than just a gimmick, offering tangible benefits to both employees and their parents.

“The corporate world has changed a lot over the last few decades, and many jobs of today didn’t even exist ten years ago.  It’s no wonder there can be a disconnect between employees and their parents, particularly if they have been out of the workforce for some time.

“If parents better understand the jobs their children do, it makes it easier for them to contribute their wealth of knowledge and life experience, providing invaluable guidance and career advice for their kids.  It also increases the bond between parent and child when open discourse about something as important as work life is possible,” he said.

Of course parents are proud of their children no matter what their job is, but the theory is that Mums and Dads will feel even more pride when they fully appreciate what’s involved in their kids’ careers.

“Many parents have no idea how valued their children are in the workplace.  We are looking forward to seeing some very proud Mums and Dads who are not only pleased to see how important the contribution of their son or daughter is to us, but also appreciate the great culture we have developed to create a happy environment for all employees,” Marsden-Huggins said.

No nuts allowed: Workplaces declared nut-free for allergy sufferers

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A recent survey from recruitment marketing specialists, Employment Office, has revealed that nut-free workplaces are on the rise, with 20% of Australians admitting they have worked for a company with a nut-free policy.

It’s easy to see why such precautions would be considered, with 22% of workers revealing they have witnessed a colleague experiencing a severe allergic reaction at work.

Considering hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions have doubled over the last decade, it’s easy to see why peanuts are being declared no-go zones in schools and childcare centres for the protection of at-risk kids.  But workplaces too?

Only about 1% of adults suffer from peanut allergies ranging from mild to life-threatening.  However, with twice as many children as adults receiving the diagnosis, and only 20% of them outgrowing the sensitivity, the numbers are increasing.

As kids with allergies get older, start leaving school and entering the workforce, what measures, if any, should be taken to safeguard them from reactions at the office?

Employment Office Managing Director, Tudor Marsden-Huggins, questions whether entire workplaces should be forced to modify their behaviour to accommodate roughly one per cent of the population.

“Interestingly, allergy experts advise against introducing nut-free policies in the workplace, arguing that the practice creates a false sense of security for allergy sufferers, when the reality is they must be continually vigilant to prevent a reaction.

“Certainly, there is an argument that if nut-free workplaces gain traction, the floodgates could be open, leading to bans on many allergy inducing foods, ranging from dairy to fish to wheat.  We don’t want a situation at work where there’s a multitude of things you can’t eat in the workplace, and only a few things you can,” he said.

Instead of blanket bans, Marsden-Huggins suggests employees with allergies should work in partnership with their employers to manage the risk.

“It’s certainly advisable for workplaces to be aware and prepared for the potential allergic reactions of their employees.  By the same token, employees with these allergies need to take responsibility for their medical condition and exercise the necessary caution.  The best scenario is for the workplace and the employee to work in partnership to create a plan to ensure the safety of anyone who is at risk,” he said.

It may not be necessary for employers to go as far as adopting a nut-free policy, however it is essential for employers to take a severe food allergy seriously.  The condition is recognised as a disability in Australia, so employees affected should be treated with an acceptable level of care and consideration.

In 2010, an American woman filed a lawsuit against her employer, claiming her co-workers harassed her by eating peanuts near her desk and chasing her and touching her with peanuts, despite knowing she had a severe allergy to them.

“Create an action plan for anaphylaxis and ensure it is communicated to the staff and displayed on a public noticeboard.  Encourage employees to be considerate of colleagues with allergies, asking them to wash their hands after having contact with allergy-inducing foods, and requesting they do not eat these foods in shared work spaces.

“Consider offering nut-free snack options in the office kitchen, and when planning in-house or off-site events, consult with employees with food allergies to ensure suitable options are taken to reduce their risk,” Marsden-Huggins said.

Thinking outside the box – how a change of scenery can change employee and candidate perspective

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The key to attracting and retaining the best and brightest staff has always been by keeping them engaged – engaged in their work and the organisation itself. Employers are starting to step up their game when it comes to creating innovative ways to entice potential employees over to their company.

By thinking outside the box when it comes to meetings, benefits and generally how a workday is carried out, employees are being enticed into roles where innovation and creative thinking is not only encouraged, but displayed by employers themselves.

For some forward thinking organisations, the once dreaded meeting has gone from a boring few hours in a conference room to an outdoors epiphany.

“More companies are having meetings outside because being outside an office environment changes the way you engage a problem,” Impact HR Consulting Director Therese Ravell said.

“It encourages creative thinking and innovation.”

Another trend seeing a rise in the workplace is the stand-up meeting – the perfect antidote to the office waffler who always goes on for far too long. The idea behind this type of meeting is that if you have 5 people standing around a table taking for 5 minutes each, everyone’s legs will start getting tired. They are deliberately designed to make sure meetings are fast and effective, with workers back to work and with a more productive outcome than traditional meetings.

Ideas like these, and ones that include sporting events on weekends and outside of work hours, such as participation in team building exercises such as Tough Mudder, show a prospective organisation in a positive light, highlighting that the company is progressive and forward thinking in not only their approach to work but also to work/life balance.

It also benefits the organisation itself by creating higher levels of staff morale, increased efficiency and higher productivity.

By highlighting these benefits in your recruitment advertising, employers can use these tools to attract candidates to their organisation. Demonstrating that your company is different in its approach is a highly attractive selling point to potential employees, and putting your best foot forward in regards to this is the key to hiring in the best.

At Employment Office, we have a strong focus on how important culture is, how we are different in how we act to any other organisation, and how we reward and celebrate our successes as a team every single day. We put a focus on how our people love coming to work, on how they are part of an organisation with heart, and of a team who works hard and plays hard. We participate in fun-runs and team events like Tough Mudder because it not only builds team morale, but shows that it’s an environment like no other. By demonstrating this, we are making sure that potential candidates are aware they are not just applying for a job, but for a career with an organisation that is more like a family.

“Having those benefits made clear to our candidates from the very beginning of the recruitment process means that we are establishing Employment Office as an exciting and revolutionary place to work. That they are part of something bigger than just a standard 9-5 role.” Employment Office Area Leader (Recruitment & Shortlisting) Rachel Palmer said.

“Creating that sense of excitement and belonging means that the right candidate is more likely to apply because they already know they want to work for a company that will give them everything they could want and then some.”

Showing that your organisation is willing to think and act outside the box is an appealing benefit that not only doesn’t cost the organisation anything, but will also bring in candidates who work better in an environment that fosters innovation, while increasing general happiness, productivity and efficiency.