Categories
Hiring Best Practices

Most Common Hiring Costs Employers Should Know About

Hiring new employees takes a great deal of patience, analytical wit, time, and money; the latter of which forms the subject of this article.

How much does it really cost to bring on new workers in 2019?

Well, aside from straightforward expenses, there are a few hidden costs that can inflate your budget beyond expectation. We’ll take a look at these factors to help you accurately predict your recruitment spending.

The external hiring team

The luxury of a dedicated HR team is an expense most startups choose to do without, instead opting for an external hiring team when the need arises.

This approach has proved very profitable to small enterprises as it cuts costs for periodical work. Data indicates that heads of small businesses spend 40% of productive hours on non-profitable tasks like hiring.

By offloading this work to others, the organization can ensure all hands are on deck with regards to core business matters.

When outsourcing recruitment to agencies, the cost is a commission based on the salary of the role being filled. For top jobs, this commission can exceed 25% of the role’s annual salary.

Recently, one company confessed to spending a staggering $16,000 each year to get just one placement which goes to show the hefty fees employers can incur for a seemingly straightforward exercise.

Moreover, finding talent is becoming harder so firms will spend more time and money to do so.

This is why we came up with the subscription hiring model at Vested. For just $999, we will identify, and recruit the best candidate for your business.

Our innovative approach returns high quality candidates at a fraction of the cost of firms charging 25% of a role’s yearly salary.

The internal hiring team

Once your business has developed into an enormous entity that can sufficiently hold its own, it becomes a necessity to have your own hiring team.

Having such a dedicated team comes at the cost of adding all of these staff members to the payroll. For instance, you will need at least one HR manager, whose salary can exceed $90,000 depending on their niche.

Hiring additional HR staff to source candidates, conduct screenings, and place/monitor job advertisements will result in additional salary costs.

Setting up an internal hiring team is only feasible if the increased wages remain below what you would have initially spent on a third party recruiter.

Of course, to realize a larger return on investment you can provide additional tasks to the hiring department so that its members contribute to other staffing-related needs like overseeing your benefits program.

Career events

The aforementioned scenarios represent the lion’s share of recruiting costs. Moving on though, career events also contribute significantly to the remaining percentage.

Even in the digital age where almost everything is done online, physical gatherings remain an important avenue of employment.

A fact substantiated by a Glassdoor study that indicates three-quarters of all employers attend college fairs which is why new college graduates make up 57% of all new hires.

Every such event attracts participation fees ranging between $125 and $225.

However the final tally is a lot higher as it excludes expenses such as marketing materials, travel, accommodation, and other prerequisite needs.

Background checks

Background checks are a must have to verify educational qualifications as wells as criminal records. You are looking at costs between $5 and $80 per applicant, which can add up quickly with a large candidate pool.

Other common hiring costs also come in the way of training/onboarding to get the new person up to speed with the organization’s workings; job boards fees, i.e. ads; and salary plus extras such as signing bonuses and benefit packages.

Final verdict: what to expect in a nutshell

According to the findings of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, $7,645 is the average cost for adding a new employee to a company of 500 people or less.

Glassdoor, on the other hand, says that the average U.S. company takes not only 52 days to find a suitable employee but also $4,000 to do so with all factors considered.

Meanwhile, the Society for Human Resource Management puts the preceding figures at 10 days lower and $129 higher.

Hence, the best option would be to hire a recruiter at Vested.

At $999 per month, it’s much more economical than paying 25% of the first year salary of your hire.

Categories
Hiring Best Practices

How The Best Recruiters Build Relationships

Let’s face it – when we get hired as a recruiter, they expect us to be the staffing solution for their hiring managers. 

We help with:

i) scoping out the role — i.e. creating job descriptions,

ii) performing market research such as comp salaries and titles, and

iii) providing recommendations on who to hire and how to conduct interviews.  

As talent acquisition specialists, the more varied the rolls we help fill are, the better our recommendations become.

One of the most frustrating things to a talent acquisition professional is when the requirements of the role change during the search.  One way to avoid this is by building a strong relationship with your hiring manager and flushing out the entire recruiting process before getting started.  Here are a few suggestions on how to develop strong relationships with your hiring managers.

1) Interview Hiring Managers Up Front

This might be incredibly obvious, but we all know recruiting is a people business, and building relationships is the key to success.  Don’t open any role without first sitting down with the hiring manager to understand how the opening came about and what role they expect the future employee to play on the team.

Having face-to-face communication up front is the key to stronger bonds especially when prolonged openings occur.  This will also help to break the ice and gather insights to screen candidates.

2) The Art of Listening

Recruiters often make the mistake of talking more than listening.  A good recruiter treats meetings with hiring managers and candidates as opportunities to get more data points to inform their decisions.  

Each role has some nuance for requirements — for instance some hiring managers look for future leaders and some are looking for functional players.  It’s the details that matter for your process; so make sure you are asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answer.

3) Develop an Opinion and Then Make a Recommendation

The job of any recruiter is to be an expert in hiring.  While we may not have the ability to assess technical ability we should have an opinion on culture fit or how a given background fits with the rest of the team.  

We should have an honest and impartial opinion about candidates so that we can maintain a trusted advisory position with hiring managers. As part of the decision-making team, we must share an informed opinion about the candidates.

4) Be to the Point and Concise

As a recruiter, you need to be in constant communication with your hiring manager. Two-way communication is a good starting point; there’s another element: conciseness.  

Have a recommendation, stay on point, and communicate clearly to help the hiring manager understand their choices and your preferences. Stay strictly on-topic and avoid ambiguous statements.

5) The Final Word

There is no doubt that you should build strong relationships with your hiring managers.  This will have a positive impact on the team and your process. Most importantly, it will improve the quality of personnel that you hire.  

This is easier said than done and our advice is to continue to hone this skill.

Categories
Hiring Best Practices

Can’t Decide Which Candidate to Hire? Look at These Factors

As a hiring manager, you might have an overwhelming number of qualified candidates to choose from when you’re trying to fill open positions at your company. When it is hard to differentiate between the qualifications of many candidates, you will need to look beyond their resumes and work experience to find the best fit for the job. If you are having a difficult time deciding between candidates, here are a few tips to help you make your final decision:

Personality Fit

As a current employee of your company, you are in the ideal spot to determine if your potential new hire has the best personality for the position. Personality assessments look at many factors, including interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and other factors, to help determine if your potential new-hire has the best personality for the position. Be sure to think of your company’s culture and how this candidate might fit in with the group. Sometimes, a conflicting personality might be what gives one candidate the edge over another. Introducing potential candidates to your team prior to making the hire can be a good way to determine if they will be the right fit with your company’s culture. These intangibles can make a big difference down the road, so take care to choose wisely.

Skills Assessment

A skills assessment is a great way to objectively determine who is the strongest candidate for the job. A black-and-white skills test will help you to assess where each candidate lies in comparison to one another. This will take all of the guesswork out of the process by objectively identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate so that you are not blinded by other factors.

How Well Does Education Match Up

There are certain jobs that do and do not require degrees. If your open position does, then you can help choose a candidate based on how well the position matches their education. For example, say you were hiring a benefits specialist or some sort of recruiter. A degree in business administration degree, versus a degree in general business, is going to prove slightly more experienced and knowledgeable of the concepts that are going to be used on the job. This can be a tie breaker of sorts for you, if you have trouble choosing between two candidates.

Look Beyond the Resume

When evaluating a resume, it is important to look beyond the relevant work experience and educational background. Especially if you are comparing two candidates to one another, you should look to see which resume conveys a more professional tone.

Long-Term View

If you are still having challenges determining which candidate is the best for the job, it is recommended to take the long-term view and try to visualize each person in the future of your company. Although you clearly have short-term needs that have to be addressed immediately, it is also critical that you pick a candidate who is willing to contribute to the team for years to come.

In a hot job market, it can be paramount to make hiring decisions quickly. By having these considerations ready to go, you can make an offer immediately. Working with Vested to find candidates will bring you more qualified job seekers and reduce the time to hire by 55 percent! Contact Vested today for a consultation.

Categories
Recruiter Tools

10 Secrets Your Third Party Recruiter Won’t Tell You

Hire a Recruiter for as little as $999 / month.

Our innovative approach to recruiting enables our clients to hire high-quality, passive candidates at a fraction of the cost of an agency or internal staff. We specialize in identifying, engaging, and sourcing passive talent. This helps companies reduce time to fill, improve candidate quality and save time by augmenting the tedious task of sourcing. Vested also helps our clients stand out among their peers through unique branding and candidate messaging.

Reach out to us at [email protected] or 347-618-0752..


A lot has changed in the world of recruiting over the last ten years.

However, one fundamental fact remains unchanged: there is no shortage of third party recruiters eager to take a fee for placing a candidate at your company.

It seems there are a zillion recruiters and it’s become impossible to determine which to engage and which to ignore.  We created this list to help you figure it out.  Let’s get started!

1)  Relationships: Recruiters Oversell the Value of Their Relationships

How many times have you heard this from recruiters?

“We have deep relationships with the most-sought after candidates and insights into their career goals…”

Sounds impressive.  But what they won’t tell you is relationships aren’t enough to get a candidate to accept your job — especially when factors like location, salary, and company mission matter more than who the message is coming from.  Research shows 8 of 10 candidate searches start from scratch anyway due to specific requirements of the role.

Instead of focusing on a recruiting firm’s “relationships,” ask about their process.  Good recruiters have the right tools and a systematic process in place to help them recruit candidates.  If you don’t receive a detailed process, then we’d suggest finding someone else to work with.

2) Bait and Switch: Never Trust a Recruiter That Sends Anonymous Resumes

Has a recruiter tried to set a meeting with you by sending a perfect resume, then after you agree to meet that candidate has suddenly “taken another job?” WTF?

There’s a reason recruiters are lumped in with used-car salesmen.  It’s happened to us in the past and left a terrible impression.  Completely unacceptable behavior if this happens to you, we’d recommend blacklisting the recruiter.

3) In-Person Vetting: Recruiters  Are Just Meeting KPIs

“We meet all candidates” is another common selling point for recruiting firms.  But here’s the real story hard-to-find, in-demand candidates have several opportunities.  They don’t have the time or patience to go to a recruiting office and get screened before they hear about open roles.  

This is truly a holdover performance metric from the pre-LinkedIn days that most large firms still stick to (just call Randstad to hear the pitch).  These days, in-person vetting is far less important than a recruiters’ ability to sell your talent brand and attract candidates with the right skills.

4) Fees:  25% is Absolutely Archaic!

Ever wonder why recruiters charge 25-35% fees for finding candidates?  

We did and conducted a TON of research on the topic.  

There’s no reason to pay those kinds of fees especially if you need help with one specific area of your candidate funnel.  For example, there are times when you need extra help sourcing and times when you need the entire funnel taken over by an expert.  Why then are you locked into 25% fees?

What if there was a better solution?  Fortunately, with Vested, there is.

5) Representing Your Company: Agencies Are Notoriously Bad at Candidate Experience

It’s no secret recruiters are working more roles than yours.  Let’s say, for example, a recruiter is working 10 roles for 10 different companies (a small number vs. what they actually work).  The recruiter will need to continuously have at least 200 candidates sourced, engaged, updated and happy. This is nearly impossible given how quickly roles open and close which naturally leads to a terrible candidate experience.  

Guess what?  If the candidate knows the name of your company, that bad experience is inherently linked to YOU.

Why does this matter?  Because candidates talk with each other and a bad experience makes it harder for you to engage similar top talent in the future.

Categories
Job Search

Best Way to Deal with Gaps in Your Resume

Employment gaps are a natural part of any career that many are bound to go through at one point or another.

Whether you took some time off to tend to urgent matters or whether you were simply laid off or looking to rediscover yourself, knowing why and how to explain this time lapse is an important part of resume writing that most haven’t fully grasped.

So what is the best way to deal with gaps in your resume? Here are a few pointers to ensure you know how to effectively fill the cracks:

First things first – is it prudent to mention an employment gap?

Well, it depends on the circumstances. For instance, if you have been employed since the absence occurred then you can leave this information off your CV.

If, on the other hand, it comes prior to a potential job offer, then concealing it might not bode too well with your to-be employers. All in all, you have no obligation to outline all your experience in its entirety particularly if you have a depth of experience spanning years.

This by no means insinuates that you should lie about your employment gap- or any other detail on your resume for that matter- far from it; you should be as truthful as possible.

Lying on your CV is a ticking time bomb that is set to explode in your face at the most inopportune moment because employers more often than not will verify the credibility of your work history sooner or later.

How to Butter up Employment Gaps to Make Them Less Conspicuous

1) Be general with the dates

If you were in a position extending several years and had a brief gap lasting just a few months, then listing dates generally provides a nice way to white out the blanks.

You can, for example, say you held a position from this year to that year- e.g. 2017-present- instead of from this month to that e.g. June 2016- May 2018. The latter way of stating dates makes employment gaps stand out so it is a definite no-no.

However, job applications will require more detail than that and so will face-to-face interviews. Therefore, you should always have accurate answers at the ready just in case the line of questioning comes up.

2) Use appropriate resume formats

There are a couple of ways you can make employment gaps fade into the background by making them unrecognizable amidst a sea of more outstanding formats.

For one, you could steer clear of bold texts for such dates and use plain text instead. Alternatively, you could also use a smaller font than that of the accompanying text.

When writing an opening statement summing up your career achievements, be sure to concentrate on the what, where, and how rather than the when. These little format and design nitty-gritty can make a world of difference.

3) Leave out a job or two from your CV

It has become somewhat acceptable to omit a job or two (experience) especially if you have been working for a long time.

The general rule of thumb is up to 15 years for professional or managerial positions and five less than that figure for other positions.

4) Highlight what you achieved during the employment gap

Did you spend your break kicking up your feet on the sofa or were you actively involved in some consultative or freelance work?

If the latter is the case then outlining your achievements during this period can tilt things in your favor. List any experience gained as you would any other work or education milestone.

The cover letter is a great place to explain your absence but you need not let your employer know about it until it’s absolutely necessary.

How to handle employment gaps in an interview

Blanking out employment gaps on paper is one thing but navigating the subject in an actual sit-down with your employer is another and can prove to be a tricky minefield.

But it doesn’t have to be if you are honest and direct. Explain the reason for your absence, whether voluntary or otherwise, and make sure to reaffirm that the matter you left to handle has been fully resolved and that you are ready to work.

If a workforce contraction was why you were laid off, support your termination with documented evidence of competency in the form of recommendations from satisfied customers, colleagues, and supervisors.

Parting Shot

Dwell on the positive and steer clear of any mudslinging of your previous employer or workmates.

If a new job requires a different set of skills from the ones you have, turn your current expertise into strengths that make you the right man for the job.

And that’s just about it when it comes to employment gaps so there is nothing else left to say but good luck!

Categories
Temp Hiring

Tips and Tricks for Structuring an Interview

So you have prepared your questions, read over the candidate’s application and resume, and made all the necessary notations to ensure you ask all the right questions, what now?

Generally, the information you collect about an applicant before the interview indicates whether or not the applicant has the minimum education, training and work experience required for a particular position.

The interview is the time to verify this information and add to it.

The interview is usually the only opportunity you have to get to know something about the applicant’s personality, attitudes, and motivation. These personal characteristics five you an idea of how well a person will perform, how satisfied he or she will be in the mob, and how long the candidate will stay with the organization.

To get an interview started and keep it going smoothly, follow a structures. You can direct and control the interview by structuring it.

Here’s the basic structure to follow during an interview:

  • Introduction and small talk
  • Probing for information from the Candidate
  • Giving the applicant information about the job and your company

At Vested, this is the structure we follow for our temp recruiting process.

Let’s see what areas can be explored and what might be revealed about the candidate in each part of the interview.

Introduction and Small Talk

The first few minutes of an interview are very important because they set the tone for the rest of the interview. This is the time to establish rapport with the applicant.

If you help the applicant feel relaxed and comfortable immediately, he or she will be more likely to be talkative and open during the rest of the interview.

Begin the interview by introducing yourself and extending a warm and sincere welcome to the candidate.

After that, it’s a good idea to take a few minutes for small talk on a casual, neutral subject. Friendly chit-chat helps reduce tension and promotes communication.

Probing for information from the Candidate

This part of the interview can be any combination of subjects including: work experience, education, outside interests, and personal factors.

Discuss the candidate’s most recent job first. From there, work backward and cover the applicant’s other jobs.

Discuss only one job at a time and get a clear picture of how the applicant performed in that job before you move on to another job.

Here are some areas to explore about the candidates work history:

  • The applicant’s specific duties and responsibilities
  • The applicant’s successes and problems in each job
  • What the applicant liked or disliked about each job
  • What the applicant was looking for in each job
  • Why the applicant left each job

As we discuss an applicant’s work experience, look for the following types of information:

Relevance and sufficiency of work experience

  • Skills and competence
  • Adaptability
  • Productivity
  • Motivation
  • Interpersonal relations
  • Leadership Maturity and judgment

After reviewing a candidate’s work history, move on his or her educational background.

  • Here are some topics you might discuss:
  • Subjects liked best and least
  • Success and special achievements in school
  • Reason for choosing schools and major areas of study
  • How education and career are related

When consider a candidates educational background, remember that academic success or failure is not, by itself, a sufficient predictor of success or failure on a job.

Probing a candidate’s education background can reveal factors such as:

  • Intellectual abilities and versatility
  • Depth of knowledge
  • Reaction to authority and imposed assignments
  • Leadership and team work

When discussing outside interests, you have to be careful as it is a delicate subject and is not directly related to job performance.

Many interviewers no longer discuss outside interests with candidates unless they ask question specifically related to the job. Otherwise, it’s easy to unknowingly violate EEO laws.

If you are going to ask questions about this area, be sure to as the same question of every candidate of r a particular job.

This ensures equal treatment of all applicants.

If you have been supportive of a candidate during the rest of the interview, the interview will be flowing smoothly and the candidate will be talking openly by now. This make sit easier to discuss more personal information.

Basically, the purpose of this part is to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of candidates. You can also give applicants a chance to sell themselves by asking them to tell you what assets they feel they bring to the job.

When discussing personal factors, look for the following types of information about candidates:

  • Best talent and skills
  • Motivation
  • Social effectiveness
  • Where the job fits in with his or her long range goals

By this time, you should have some idea about whether or not this candidate is right for this job. If you are sure it’s not a match, there’s no reason to spend a lot of time giving the applicant information about the job and your company.

Simply conclude the interview cordially.

Giving the applicant information about the job and your company

If you feel positive about an applicant, start selling the job and your company. An effective interview is a two way street.

Now that you have the information you want about the candidate, give the candidate information about this job and company.

Begin this part of the interview by having the candidate tell you what he or she already knows about the job and what he or she expects from it.

Then you can tell more about the job by:

  • Adding to what the applicant already knows about the job
  • Correcting any misconceptions

Be sure to cover the following information:

  • Salary Shift or work hours
  • Overtime
  • Training
  • Travel
  • Relocation
  • Advancement possibilities

During this part of the interview, give the applicant all the information he or she needs to decide if the job is the right one.

Encourage the applicant to ask questions you discuss the job. A candidate who doesn’t get complete information in this part of the interview may be the same hiring “risk” as an unqualified candidate, because people are usually “good employees” only if they are place in jobs which satisfy their needs, us their ability and training, and encourages them to function somewhere near their optimal level.

Give the candidate a balanced and complete picture of the job. Be honest about its rewards and its problems.

If you’re hiring someone into a work unit or department with problems, let them know what they will face. Some people are trouble shooters and thrive in that type of situation.

Others don’t like and probably won’t do well in int. Also, let the candidate know what kind of atmosphere he or se will be working in.

One final question

By this point, you may feel you’ve covered all the necessary interviewing ground. You probably have. But it’s always a good idea to ask one final question.

Ask the applicant if there is anything else that he or she feels you should know. This gives the person the opportunity to cover any information you may have missed. It helps end the interview on a positive note.

Concluding the interview

Before you rush the candidate out the door, there are three things to cover:

  • Let them know when a decision will be made
  • When they can expect to hear from you
  • Confirm where and when they can be reached
  • Thank them for their time and interest

Taking these steps should allow an interview to flow with ease and provides for little “gray” area.

A candidate should leave the interview with a good understanding of the job and company and you should have a good understanding of whether or not they will make a good fit for the position.

Finally, check out this useful video on recruiting from Google:

Categories
Temp Hiring

Tips to Hire the Right Person For Your Business

Hiring someone is like dating.

I was watching reruns of Jersey Shore last night (yes, I know it is my guilty pleasure). The women on the show do not generally get treated very well by the men they date.

The men on the show bring home women, schmoosh, and then get them out the door as soon as possible.

But most of us who see it from the outside realize that these women are all picking men who act the same way. The women choose the sharp looking man who says exactly what the woman want to hear.

Many hiring managers do the exact same thing. They choose the best looking, most charismatic person to work for them.

They are then surprised when the employee lied during the interview, or turns out to not be as good as they said they were.

Some people are very good at representing themselves. They could convince a stranger they were the president of a country if they wanted to. They use these skills to get exactly what they want, taking the easiest route possible.

Once the men have the woman hooked, they get what they want and never give the women what they want. The women are disappointed, but then go after the exact same type of man and are disappointed yet again.

If you choose the wrong employee they will probably mislead you into thinking they are doing more than they are actually accomplishing. This is why many businesses owners leave it to the staffing pros for their recruiting needs.

A wrong hire can set you back.

This may mean an employee who doesn’t do their paperwork, manipulates statistics, or steals your customers from you. They know how to make things look in their favor and you will be very happy with their ‘performance’.

If you want to be surrounded by yes men who have their own secret agendas, hiring the best looking and charismatic person may be your best bet.

If you need an outside salesman, this type of person may be ideal. But if you are hiring an accountant, analyst or something that requires thinking or interpreting information, you may want to go past the appearance and charms, and see what skills the person actually has.

A person who is very skilled will tend to see their flaws a lot more than someone who is a novice.

So if you go for the good looking charismatic candidate, you may be being played just as much as the girls on Jersey Shore.

Categories
Recruiter Tools

2018 Recruitment Trends – Whats Happening in HRTech

With 2018 upon us, it’s a good time to review 3 trends shaping the future of hiring solutions. It’s a constant battle to attract and retain finance and accounting talent. After surveying our base of clients, we found these common themes in their HR strategy that you should consider in the upcoming year.

Shared Economy Model for Temp Staffing

Or shall we say the Uberisation of temporary workers. This is a trend that we’re going to see over the next few years, in particular temp staffing for finance and accounting roles.

We’ve seen this disintermediation in other industries, like Uber has dramatically changed the transportion industry.  We’re seeing this already in recruitment with tools like Task Rabbit and Thumbtack, where you can literally use an app to just find somebody available to do handyman work.

With a simple swipe on your smartphone, you pay by credit card to hire a professional to complete your job. The final step is a feedback mechanism where both the pro and you rate each other.

App based automation has completely transformed a number of different sectors and industries:

This trend will penetrate further, and we are going to see it more in temp volume staffing. At a recent HR Tech conference, a speaker described recruiting and building a team as parts of a computer. You can go to a computer store and buy parts and pieces which provides you the flexibility to add various parts to your setup. Temp staffing works the same way. As long as somebody has the right skill set, companies are becoming more accepting of part-time and temporary assignments.

Going back to the example of Uber – the driver doesn’t matter. The car type doesn’t matter. As long as the app helps you get from Point A to Point B, then it’s as good as taking the subway or a yellow taxi (if you’re in New York).

This shared economy is the way of the future in all segments of recruiting and temp volume staffing. Perhaps you need a receptionist to come for a day and you have simple requirements. They arrive and leave at the specified hours and can manage a simple scheduling tool.

The current workflow is that another admin or office manager will call a staffing agency which provides a list of resumes. Then you must take the word of the placement agency (who is paid on a commission) that their temp worker will be the best of the lot.

In the Uber model of temp staffing, you’ll still need a phone – your smartphone. You open the app and then filter through thousands via a matching algorithm filtered on a few different criteria. You get real profile pictures. You get real resumes. You can probably even call these candidates.

Based on several reviews (not just the “expert” opinion of one placement agency), you hire the best person. And one more thing:

Just like Uber, the company also vets the professionals for criminal history and only lists real professionals who can do the job successfully. Hence, you won’t even need to do background checks. And just like Uber, this will be on-demand so your temp receptionist can be at your office the next day.

Because of this trend to Uberizing temp staffing, we’ve developed the app that can help companies with on-demand talent. We’ve seen a larger portion of our placements as temp staffing because companies have found that temp staffing (especially at start-ups) are cost-effective solutions to their finance and accounting needs.

For a full comparison of the pros and cons of full-time versus temp staffing, check out our article.

The industry hasn’t fully shifted into app hiring for full-time employees. Perhaps one day but we’re not there yet. The reason is cost. When was the last time you purchased something via an app that cost you more than a few thousand dollars?

When was the last time you bought a car online? Most people would say never because buyers like to test drive the car, kick the tires, talk to the “experts” at the car dealership and shop around.

It’s the same thing with recruiting full-time employees. Full time workers are a big investment – not just in terms of money but also time. You’ll be sitting next to this person 40 to 80 hours a week. You’ll be going to “war” with this person in various conference calls and client meetings. You want to make sure the fit is right.

Scanning profiles from an app doesn’t provide enough insight on some of these qualities. Technology is great at presenting quantitative data. It still has a long way to go in terms of assessing the human qualities that recruiters look for when evaluating a new hire.

Online Reputation Management

Reputation is really important, and organizations pay top dollar for agencies to manage their online presence. It’s also important in the tourist and travel industry. For example, Trip Advisor was one of the first to do this on mainstream. On Trip Advisor, a user can read thousands of reviews on a particular hotel property or experience.

Yelp is another example, where the success or failure of a local restaurant could depend on user generated reviews of the establishment. Yelp has replaced the need to pick up the New York Times Sunday edition and check out the hottest restaurants. Now, all one needs is to head on over to Yelp and find the best restaurants for any genre or type.

In 2018 and beyond, we see this ratings system extending into the recruiting industry. What if you search for accountants in New York, look up their resumes, and rank them by ratings?

Today, the filtering system is the agency. An agency collates resumes, and they send the resumes to the client. At Vested and other similar apps, we’re seeing clients eager to cut the middleman out. The middleman mind you who’s incentivized to fill the placement, regardless of fit, to get paid. They want direct access to the candidate. They want to see their resumes and a way to score them according to their opening.

With this trend in mind, job seekers would do well to maintain a professional online portfolio. Update LinkedIn and fill out their Vested profiles completely. These steps will help you stand out among the crowd.

Online reputation extends to companies as well. This is why Glassdoor or similar sites are so popular. Candidates want to read reviews and see star ratings on companies.

Candidates don’t want to be stuck in a job with a company with a bad reputation. Hence, companies nowadays spend thousands of dollars for agencies to manage their online reputation. A Glassdoor rating or Vested profile can have a direct impact on your ability to recruit and retain top finance and accounting talent.

Active Management of Candidates (Outreach Model)

Finally, the last big trend is the concept of active management. Currently, most HR strategies are passive in nature. HR departments will only start seeking candidates, when a spot opens up in one of the divisions. When an opening arises, HR departments initiate their flow: call the agency, farm for resumes, screen for resumes and hope one of these resumes come from the ideal candidate.

This reactive approach to recruiting is not the optimal way to manage personnel. In this approach, you’re always at the mercy of active job seekers which may not suit the requirements at that moment in time. Often, these are not the best candidates in the industry.

In the active management model, HR professionals don’t wait for an opening to reach out for candidates. HR professionals are constantly reaching out. They search in LinkedIn for the best profiles. They read blogs or watch videos from authoritative sources. They engage and connect with them and maintain a strong rapport.

In sales and marketing, this is called “pre-selling.” When a salesperson pre-sells a product, they are informing customers about the product or service, and through informative content, the salesperson hopes to create future demand. Marketers often point out that it takes seven contacts before a salesperson can make a sale. Hence, there is a lot of pre-selling before a consumer actually purchases a product.

This concept of pre-selling interest in potential employees can work really well in the recruiting. When we surveyed our most active users (companies who are hiring), we found interesting results. They use Vested (along with LinkedIn) to nurture interest from candidates who have attractive profiles.

They spend half the time setting interviews and funneling candidates to the recruiting flow, and they spend the other half reaching out and “pre-selling” the organization to ideal candidates.

Our clients who use the active management model have higher conversion rates when they bring in candidates they’ve already pre-vetted via prior outreach campaigns. They’ve identified top candidates and pre-sold them on the benefits of working at their organizations.

Vested as a Next-Gen Hiring Solution

After reviewing the results from our clients, we at Vested feel even more confident that our platform is the next-gen recruiting tool to connect job seekers to companies who need them. It’s a platform where both sides can interact with each other and “pre-sell” the benefits of a working relationship.

It’s a cost-effective platform, where hiring managers have direct access to candidates. It’s a platform pushing the boundaries and laying the groundwork for the future of the recruiting industry.

(Photos from Upsplash)

Categories
Job Search

When Employers Are Too Eager to Hire You

It’s always flattering to be wanted. And that holds true in job searches as much as anything.

Who doesn’t dream of sending out a resume and getting a call in hours?

Wouldn’t that be the ideal?

Well, it would seem that way. After all, it would surely mean that what we offer is desirable, important, and unique.

Why else would they be so eager, right?

Maybe.

Being hired quickly can indeed be a sign of that. But more often it’s a sign of some more insidious things about a company or job.

Here are some of the key downsides of rapid-fire hiring.

The employer may not have given enough thought to the position

Some companies value decisiveness and speed over careful planning and methodical processes. That can have its advantages at times, but it can also drive hiring managers to make rash, impulsive decisions.

Maybe someone in the department panicked because there was a sudden rush in business.

What happens after things slow down?

Will there still be work for you?

Just as bad, maybe the demand will be there, but no one at the company took the time to figure out what would be the best combination of job responsibilities to satisfy that need.

They may have no idea what they’re looking for in you.

The previous employee may have fled in desperation

The company may also be in a hurry to bring you into an interview because the person who previously held the position was driven insane by the company and gnawed his leg off just to get out of the trap.

Thus, the company has to scramble to get another poor sap in there to replace him. Don’t be a sucker. Find out why the position is open.

And when doing so, look for the usual signs of manure being slung about the room – stories that don’t add up, shifting eyes, evaded questions.

Company may be too short staffed to cover when people leave

Even if the person gave perfectly adequate notice of leaving, maybe the company was already teetering precariously on the edge of being way under staffed.

Perhaps this one person leaving was enough to push the department into complete chaos because it has nowhere near enough people to pick up the slack.

And that’s a situation you probably don’t want any part of – unless they’re openly looking for someone to rebuild the department, you’re up for the task, and they’re paying what it’s worth.

You may indeed be that desirable

Finally, you shouldn’t rule out that maybe you really are such a hotshot that an employer might scramble to get you before someone else does. Hey, don’t sell yourself short – it could very well true.

Granted, it’s less likely than the other scenario. But don’t get too cynical. The world is full of wild and wonderful moments and this could be one of them.

The real key in considering this is to weigh the eager company that called you the next day versus how much other action your resume is getting. Is this the only company that’s in a rush to bring you in?

If so, get the warning flags up.

Don’t rule these guys out automatically.

Just be prepared to ask the important questions along the way. Healthy skepticism can save you years of heartache.

Categories
Recruiter Tools

Benefits of Hiring Full-Time Employees over Temp Workers

One of the most important decisions and investments you will make as a business owner is the hiring of new staff. Many factors contribute to who you add to your finance team and what value they bring to your company.

We cannot cover all of these varied points in a single blog post, but instead will examine the question of whether you should hire a temp or full time employee?  

To help you answer this question, you need to look at the pros and cons of each type of employee. 

As you look at the different options, you also need to be aware of the impact on your bottom line. What type of worker you hire makes a difference.

Here are some things to consider for each category of worker:

The advantage of hiring full-time employees

  • Full-time employees often feel pride in their position in your business. They get satisfaction out of being part of a team and working somewhere they feel comfortable and have job security.
  • The hourly wage for an employee is much less than that of the temp workers, assuming both workers work a standard 50-60 hour work week.
  • You realize that you generally have workers that you trust and can always depend on when you need them. You can assign errands for all time which gives you an opportunity to carry out the jobs that are most important to you.
  • You do not have to continually train new staff on how you like things done continually.

Disadvantages to hiring full-time employees

  • Full-time employees will always expect benefits like holiday pay and maternity leave.
  • They must always be paid a salary, regardless of whether your business is having a low period.
  • You are in charge of your workers’ training and professional licensing requirements.

Temp jobs often arise if businesses need to cover for the long-term absence of employees, due to issues such as sickness or maternity leave. Short-term projects or busy periods, such as the end of the financial year, may create temp job opportunities as well.

Using a temp agency allows a company to respond quickly to peaks in demand, without having to go through a lengthy and time-consuming recruitment process.

Pros of hiring temp worker

  • Lower labor costs. Hiring a full-time employee involves placing advertisements, carrying out background checks, training, and overtime costs. Hiring a temp worker eliminates the majority of these costs.
  • Hiring even a single employee involves a lot of time and energy. But while hiring a temporary employee, the duty is usually shifted to a team of career professionals and recruiters.
  • Full-time employees have to be provided benefits and perks. This entails an extra cost to the employer. Temporary workers, in most cases, are supplied by workforce agencies hence reduce benefits claims.
  • Avoid unemployment claims. This can be avoided by recruiting temporary workers, whose claims are limited only for the duration of employment.
  • If you hire a temp worker who is is not a good match, you don’t hire the worker again. You are not making a long-term commitment.
  • You can hire a worker for a particular task at hand by contracting someone with specialized knowledge.
  • Temporary workers are usually used on a “try before you buy” basis, which may offer the following benefits:
    • You get high flexibility when you are unsure about filling your position with a full-time employee – a reality that is particularly useful in uncertain economic situations.
    • You get the opportunity to assess a person from a specialized viewpoint for a prolong period. You likewise get the chance to evaluate social fit and character attributes, and how well the prospective employee’s values fit into your organization.

Disadvantages of hiring temp workers

  • You may lack the same amount of control as you would with the full-time employee. They will regularly run their business their way.
  • They usually do not have the same sense of company loyalty as a full-time employee and most of the time do not feel as they are a part of the business staff.
  • Wages for temporary workers are usually 15-20% more than that of regular employees. This is because the staffing agency includes its fees into the worker’s salary.
  • Permanent employees usually see temporary workers as nothing more than temps and are threatened by their presence. Temp workers are unlikely to attract much respect from the rest of the team.
  • So which option is best for you?In general, if you need a stop gap solution, you’re best option is to get a temporary person. It’s not a long term commitment and buys you time to look for a permanent solution.

However, a common mistake for most startups is making a temporary person a “full-time” solution, especially in the case of building their finance and accounting teams. Startups focus mainly on building out their product and engineering teams and neglect the importance of a strong core of finance and accounting professionals.

They then become shocked when they find it difficult to create financial dashboards and presentations that will impress the VC crowd.

If you are serious business and want to raise money in the future, the best option is to find a finance professional or a full-time accountant. Ideally, you would have both. They grow your business and understand how to create the right dashboards and presentations that will impress. Most hired guns will come in, do what’s needed and get out. That’s not an ideal way to lay the groundwork for your financial and accounting processes.

If you’re business has gotten some traction and you’re ready to seek VC money in less than a year, you should definitely be looking for a full-time finance and accounting professional.

Sign up at Vested today to get started in the process of securing your business’ financial future.