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Articles - Bryan Johanson

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The Ups and Downs of Employee Referral Programs - a Lesson from an ERP Champion

Bryan Johanson, May 13, 2009

Topics:

For many years companies have touted the power of Employee Referral Programs as a primary source for recruiting top candidates. This year at the ERE Expo in San Diego, one of Microsoft's top recruiting strategists announced that ERP programs didn't work at Microsoft. His conclusion was that Microsoft should focus their sourcing efforts on other sourcing channels. Personally, I was shocked with this revelation. It is entirely counter to what we experience with most of our customers. So, I decided to take a behind-the-scenes look at last year's ERE winner for the best ERP Program and get an update on what's happening today. Perhaps employee referral programs only work in booming economies and tight labor markets, and they completely fall to pieces in economic downturns. I had to know, so I called up Ron Bower, Director of Recruiting and Employee Relations at AmTrust Bank to get the inside scoop on their world class ERP program. They won the ERE award for the Best Employee Referral program in 2008. Stay tuned for some real life surprising "hard knock" lessons from a true ERP Champion.

» Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of Employee Referral Programs - a Lesson from an ERP Champion"

Is Your Recruiting Department behind the Eight Ball?

Bryan Johanson, April 14, 2009

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

The expression "behind the eight ball" refers to a difficult position from which escape is highly unlikely.  In pool it's not good to be behind the eight ball because hitting the eight ball first is an automatic loss.  Most (not all) recruiting departments are in heavy reaction mode, struggling to keep their heads above water, or out of the line of fire until the economic storm recedes.  Most are not investing in the future nor preparing for the turnaround.  This mentality is a sure recipe for being well behind the eight ball as this recession clears.  There is good news.  Most economists agree that we are at or near the bottom of this economic downturn.

» Continue reading "Is Your Recruiting Department behind the Eight Ball?"

Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt

Bryan Johanson, February 25, 2009

Topics: Newsletter

When I worked in the high tech field in the 1980s and 1990s, IBM was the biggest player in the industry.  They were the 800-pound gorilla in the room.  Their sales pitch went something like this.  "Buying IBM is safe."  "No one ever got fired for buying IBM."  "You'd have to be crazy to choose anybody else!"  Even if there were better systems and software on the market (and there absolutely were), for a long time IBM won the lion's share of the business because they convinced managers that buying anything but "Big Blue" was RISKY.  Their goal was simply to sow doubt and fear about their competitors.

Guy Kawasaki, who was at the time a famous product marketer at Apple, had the job of breaking through that barrier.  He would do outrageous things to shake up his competition.  He would send very expensive custom mailings to the product managers at IBM thanking them for their support of Apple.  These mailing weren't addressed directly to the product manager, but rather they were written as if they were being sent to all of Apple's customers, when, in fact, they only went to a few selected product managers at Apple's core competitors.  This would create havoc within the competition's marketing departments as they would try to invent even more expensive campaigns to counter what was perceived as a huge attack.  IBM wasted a lot of time, money, people, and resources chasing Guy's phantom promotions.  He would then focus his energy on activities that really made a difference with his customers and, not surprisingly, he won market share. Two lessons for Guy's antics:  first, focus on activities that really make a difference with your customer; second, be positive and project that positivity into your customer, markets, and candidates.

» Continue reading "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt"

"Early-Bird" Strategies for Sourcing Top Sales People, or Sourcing Secrets of Top Recruiters - Lessons from a Top Candidate's Search

Bryan Johanson, January 28, 2009

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting, Sourcing

Performance-based Hiring is about recruiting top performers, and in today's economy recruiters and companies have a chance to pick up some really great talent.  The key word here is "chance." One prerequisite to finding and recruiting top talent is that recruiters must understand the mentality of a top performer.  If I had to sum it up in one word it would be "Picky"! Top performers want the right job, not just any job.  The job has to offer a challenge and be with the right company and the right people, not to mention offering the right compensation and benefits package.  While timing is important, top performers won't rush into taking just any job.  They are confident in their capabilities, and their job search is part of an overall master plan. 

» Continue reading ""Early-Bird" Strategies for Sourcing Top Sales People, or Sourcing Secrets of Top Recruiters - Lessons from a Top Candidate's Search"

The First 100 Days - Recruiting in 2009

Bryan Johanson, January 14, 2009

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

Do you think our new president will have it bad in his first 100 days?  The recruiting industry is looking even worse.  In late December we launched our annual survey and the results continue to roll in.  We're keeping the survey open for a few more weeks so we can get the broadest picture possible of what's happening out there.  You still have time to participate in the survey and receive the executive summary of our results, so if you haven't had a chance to fill it out, please take a moment to do it now by clicking here.  Don't delay. 

» Continue reading "The First 100 Days - Recruiting in 2009"

Everything You Wanted to Know about Recruiting in 2009, but Were Afraid to Ask!

Bryan Johanson, December 17, 2008

Topics: Newsletter

Yes, I know the title is a bit audacious, but we at The Alder Group absolutely are not afraid to ask for help.  I'll be the first to admit that I can't quite handle this topic alone.  That's why this week's article is designed to entice you to participate in our annual 2009 Recruiting Outlook and Challenges Survey.  You can take this year's survey by visiting http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228MEAHSVHN.  It's live and ready to go right now.

» Continue reading "Everything You Wanted to Know about Recruiting in 2009, but Were Afraid to Ask!"

A Review of the Los Angeles Sourcing Summit

Bryan Johanson, November 19, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Sourcing

I know it's a long way to travel to Los Angeles, especially for our East Coast readers, but last Wednesday you missed a great opportunity to attend our first ever half-day sourcing summit.  So for the benefit of those who couldn't make it, I'll provide a short summary of some of the "must know" sourcing ideas presented by our panel of experts.  When we first conceived of the idea it was an experiment of sorts.  Of course, that was also before the economy started heading south, companies like Citibank announced record layoffs (over 52,000 this month), and AIG got its first bailout check.  We were a little concerned that sourcing might be at the bottom of recruiters' shopping lists this holiday season, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that interest was still high.  While entry-level jobs are a little easier to fill, there is still the issue of weeding through increased candidate flow to find the real gems.  Skilled labor is, and will always be, a challenge to find, even in a slowing economy.  In fact, recruiters reported that getting skilled labor to move in this market is even more challenging.  Recruiters have to use all their skills to make it happen.  So our conclusion is that the war for top talent is hardly over, but the battlefield has made some dramatic shifts.  In this week's article, I'll share some of the insights and key messages delivered at the summit to help companies build talent pipelines and capture the best passive talent available. 

» Continue reading "A Review of the Los Angeles Sourcing Summit"

Brain Trusts, RIFs and Performance-based Hiring

Bryan Johanson, October 29, 2008

Topics: Newsletter

Today in board rooms around the world, business leaders are meeting to make plans on how to best weather the current economic crisis.  None of these seasoned leaders, however, truly know the extent of the financial crisis or how long it will last.  Their strategies will include such things as cutting costs, increasing marketing expenditures, selling off assets, buying struggling businesses, and reducing – or in some cases expanding – their work forces.  These decisions will quickly trickle down through their organization creating a whole host of emotional reactions.  In some cases there will be paralysis as leaders struggle to define a clear direction.  If you happen to be in one of the few recession-proof industries like health care, you are probably counting your blessings.  If not, you are wondering what changes you need to make to thrive in the current and coming storm.  

» Continue reading "Brain Trusts, RIFs and Performance-based Hiring"

Bailing Out the Recruiting Industry - a Time to Advance or Retreat?

Bryan Johanson, October 8, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

In battles, victory almost always goes to the bold and confident.  Many companies are feeling the strain of the economic situation, but how will the bold react?  Last Friday was week one of our October Recruiter Boot Camp Online. The economic bailout bill had just been signed into law and I believe there was a short sigh of relief followed by a whole lot of anxiety.  We asked our new class of eager recruiters to identify any challenges they now face as a result of the growing economic/financial crisis.  Below are some of their comments:

» Continue reading "Bailing Out the Recruiting Industry - a Time to Advance or Retreat?"

Barack Obama, The OFCCP, and The Presidency

Bryan Johanson, August 27, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

Note: this article has raised some controversy. Feel free to comment on Lou's Recruiters Roundtable blog.

It seems that an increasing number of our clients are undergoing frequent, and in some cases constant, audits by the OFCCP regarding their hiring practices. The audits are costly, nerve-wracking, time consuming, and often monopolize the entire focus of the department under scrutiny. This week the Democratic National Convention roared into my newly adopted home town of Denver, CO. It's quite the spectacle. The streets are closed, security has never been tighter, and the excitement is hard to contain. Michelle Obama hit a home run on Monday night with her speech. Edward Kennedy never looked statelier. Hillary Clinton took the podium on Tuesday, and Thursday we'll hear from the star of the show, Barack Obama himself. No matter what your political persuasion (and I won't reveal mine in this article), I can't help feeling a bit proud of our country for selecting a diverse candidate for the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

» Continue reading "Barack Obama, The OFCCP, and The Presidency"

Oddball Sourcing

Bryan Johanson, July 30, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Sourcing

The very fact that you were enticed to read this article proves that Oddball Sourcing works. Just the nature of the title allowed us to attract a different audience. As you may have guessed, we're looking for some oddballs – recruiters and sourcers with open minds, creative approaches, and somewhat odd tendencies. You know who you are, and apparently you've got what it takes to be an Oddball Sourcer or you wouldn't be reading this article.

Some people just think differently. Einstein developed most of his theories while watching the sun rise and set. He asked a lot of questions that other people weren't asking like, "How does a beam of light travel through the universe?" and voila – he invented the Theory of Relativity. I recently listened to the book on CD, Freakonomics, by Steven Leavitt. The entire book is about using common sense, logic, and data to answer some interesting and challenging questions. For instance:

» Continue reading "Oddball Sourcing"

Three Common Sense Secrets to Hiring Outstanding Sales People

Bryan Johanson, July 2, 2008

Topics: Interview Training, Newsletter, Recruiting

Over the years, we've helped many companies apply the principles of Performance-based Hiring^sm to find talented and productive sales people. When we first engage with these companies their conversations often begin with similar words… "Help me find sales people who are aggressive, multitaskers, closers who don't take ‘No' for an answer. It would be great if they came from our competitors and brought with them a few clients, contacts, or knowledge that will help them hit the ground running. And oh, by the way, I need them NOW." At this point in the conversation we have to intervene and help our clients think differently about the process of consistently hiring outstanding sales professionals. Below are three common sense secrets for doing just that:

» Continue reading "Three Common Sense Secrets to Hiring Outstanding Sales People"

Recruiting Darwin Awards – Not Everybody Evolves

Bryan Johanson, June 4, 2008

Topics: Interviewing, Newsletter, Recruiting

Several years ago my children introduced me to the Darwin Awards. We've had a lot of fun reading some of the stories of the winners (or should I say "losers"?). These awards go to members of the human race who do something so dumb that they end up removing themselves from the gene pool – hence the name. For instance, take the guy who had a fuse in his car blow out on a long trip. He had the bright idea to use a bullet to replace the fuse. The logic was sound – it's made of metal and conducts electricity, doesn't it? Everything was going fine until the bullet heated up and exploded, leaving a big hole in his chest. As we travel the world talking to recruiters and recruiting organizations, I've become aware of some practices that, while not quite as deadly as the above example, do cause one to wonder what people are thinking. In the interest of brevity, I'm going to list just a few of the more egregious examples. I'll stop short of naming names, but know that every example is real.

» Continue reading "Recruiting Darwin Awards – Not Everybody Evolves"

Seven Deadly Sourcing Sins

Bryan Johanson, May 7, 2008

Topics: Newsletter

You all know about the seven deadly sins. Commit any one of these and your eternal future may be in jeopardy. Today, I'll reveal the seven deadly sins of sourcing. While their eternal consequences may not be quite so dire, their negative effects on your ability to attract the best talent are an absolute certainty. For those of you who are well versed in classic literature, now would be a good time to recall Dante's seven levels of hell or some of the more graphic Greek tragedies. If I remember correctly they don't end well. So, to avoid similar consequences you might want to pay careful attention to these common sourcing pitfalls:

If you were able to answer these questions with some degree of specificity, you may now proceed to the next six sins. All good sourcing activities require deep job knowledge, so it amazes me how many recruiters expect to attract top talent without it. Your ability to create a compelling pitch, post a killer ad, or convince a candidate who's on the fence to move forward all comes from job knowledge. Job knowledge also allows a recruiter to understand what the benefits are for the candidate (i.e., opportunity, growth, stretch). Otherwise, all you have left is compensation and benefits, and in this market, that's not nearly enough.

» Continue reading "Seven Deadly Sourcing Sins"

Building Your Personal Recruitment Brand

Bryan Johanson, April 9, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

When your clients or hiring managers think of you as a recruiter, what words come to their minds? Reliable? Insightful? Unresponsive? Bureaucratic? Whatever the words, these concepts define our personal recruitment brand. Hiring Managers may not communicate these directly to us in formal meetings, but they definitely share their opinions among their peers. Below is a short quiz which should help you get a jump start on where you stand with your personal recruitment brand. Ask yourself each of the following questions and be honest in your answers. No one’s looking, I promise.

» Continue reading "Building Your Personal Recruitment Brand"

Plan, Do, Study, and Act - The Foundation for Continuously Improving Recruiting

Bryan Johanson, March 12, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

Plan, Do, Study, and Act is Dr. Edward Deming's approach to Total Quality Improvement. If you know anything about The Adler Group, you know that we believe hiring should be a predictable, repeatable business process. We advocate a process called Performance-based Hiring which we firmly believe allows organizations to systematically hire top talent. To make it predictable and repeatable there must be a structured approach to hiring that can be scaleable throughout an organization and a continuous process of planning, doing, studying, and acting to improve upon that process. There are four components to this process including the creation of a Performance Profile for each position, a focus on sourcing top talent (we call this "Talent-Centric Sourcing"), an evidence-based interview using our Two Question Performance-based Interview, as well as an integrated process for recruiting and closing the candidate. In our recent survey we asked candidates to measure the effectiveness of key aspects of the hiring process from the recruiter's perspective by answering the following question:

» Continue reading "Plan, Do, Study, and Act - The Foundation for Continuously Improving Recruiting"

Recruiting Metrics

Bryan Johanson, February 13, 2008

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting

Question 12: How would you rank your company in using the following metrics to track performance?

One of the areas we wanted to explore in our recently completed survey was the use of metrics in tracking recruiting effectiveness. We asked recruiters and recruiting managers to rank their use of a particular set of recruiting metrics in tracking their team’s effectiveness. We picked metrics that we considered to be some of the most important indicators of recruiting efficiency and success. These include:

Candidates interviewed compared to number presented Candidates interviewed per hire Number of candidate interviews set up by recruiter by week or month The use of web trends to track ad performance Quality of candidates hired by recruiter and by manager

Quality of candidates by sourcing channel Time to hire Candidate on-the-job performance compared to predicted performance Turnover by position Turnover by manager

» Continue reading "Recruiting Metrics"

The Year of the Race!--Recruiting, Restructuring, and Rebuilding

Bryan Johanson, January 16, 2008

Topics: Managing, Newsletter, Recruiter Training, Recruiting

2008 is the year of races, including the all-important race for the Presidency of the United States. As the presidential hopefuls gear up for their longest job interview ever, we shouldn't forget that the race for top quality talent in our own organizations has already begun, and candidates are bolting out of the gate at a tremendous clip. Unlike the presidential race, where now nine hopeful candidates are vying for one top job, the talent race is upside down with hundreds of thousands of candidates and even more open positions. As one pundit put it last year, "The talent wars are definitely over and the candidates have won!" Just like the bloated real estate market, we've got a glut of jobs and a shortage of talent (except perhaps in Michigan), and more recruiters than ever pitching their opportunities to an ever shrinking talent pool. Even if the economy dips into the dreaded recession, we'll still have jobs for talented people. It's a buyers market even for average talent, and recruiters are going to have to step up their game if they expect to attract top people. And just for the record... it's always a buyers market for top talent regardless of the position, industry, or economic circumstances.

» Continue reading "The Year of the Race!--Recruiting, Restructuring, and Rebuilding"

The One Question Interview Challenge

Bryan Johanson, November 7, 2007

Topics: Interview Training, Interviewing, Newsletter, Performance Profiles

Two months ago I gave a presentation to a room full of HR managers and executives from an engineering company in Omaha, Nebraska. After the presentation I had several conversations about their hiring challenges with individual managers. I ended up giving three people copies of the audio CD, "The One Question Interview," with the challenge that they use this approach on their next big hire and report back on their results. Last Thursday I received the following voice message from John Martin of Cascade Engineering. Here's what he had to say:

» Continue reading "The One Question Interview Challenge"

Get a Life! AND recruit candidates at the same time.

Bryan Johanson, October 11, 2007

Topics: Networking, Newsletter, Recruiting, Sourcing

Today I'll share with you the inside scoop on Sodexho's first foray into using Virtual Job Fairs in Second Life. I recently interviewed Anthony Scarpino, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition for Sodexho, and Amy Brooks, one of Sodexho's recruiters who participated in their first ever virtual job fair. Amy recently attended our online Recruiter Boot Camp and graciously volunteered to share her experiences using Second Life to attract candidates.

» Continue reading "Get a Life! AND recruit candidates at the same time."

Fixing Corporate Recruiting

Bryan Johanson, September 14, 2007

Topics: Networking, Newsletter, Recruiter Training, Recruiting, Sourcing

Last week I met with a Director of Recruiting from a major Fortune 200 company in the Midwest. In a recent meeting with one of her top corporate executives, the executive made the comment that he finally considered the recruiting department "fixed." The Recruiting Director was so taken back by the comment that she didn't really know how to respond. She was genuinely troubled by his comment. What does he mean by "fixed"? Perhaps it was a backhanded compliment or maybe he meant "fixed" in the sense that he's crossed it off his to-do list—he's no longer worried about it. Perhaps he believes that because they recently installed a new ATS system, added two or three additional recruiters, and restructured their sourcing department, he doesn't really need to worry about it any more.

» Continue reading "Fixing Corporate Recruiting"

Unmasking the Well-Prepared Candidate

Bryan Johanson, August 17, 2007

Topics: Assessment, Interview Training, Interviewing, Newsletter, Recruiter Training, Recruiting

It's back-to-school week here in Colorado, so my eight children are beginning yet another year of school. It's always interesting to me to gauge their reactions to their new teachers. They form their impressions very early, and some of those impressions are negative. Last night my son told me about his new sixth grade math teacher from you-know-where. "Oh dad, she is absolutely awful! She's extremely strict, she doesn't allow talking in class, and home work has to be in on time. If it's a minute late you get zero credit. She's way too serious, no fun, and she's the hardest, worst teacher in the school. Can you help me transfer out of her class?" We've all had teachers like this one, but what's interesting to me is that as you go through this process over and over with so many kids, you realize that the first day of school is very much contrived. It's a huge multi-act play. Every teacher has on his/her game face. Some try to scare the kids into submission while others try to win the students over by being open and friendly. Each has their own strategy and it's all carefully orchestrated to set the stage for the coming year. In two or three weeks once the impact of the teachers' "first day of school" speeches wear off, I'll start to get the "real" scoop. Sometimes the toughest teacher becomes my child's favorite. What I really care about is simply their ability to teach my children their subjects well.

» Continue reading "Unmasking the Well-Prepared Candidate"

Are You On YouTube?

Bryan Johanson, July 26, 2007

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting, Sourcing

The FBI is looking for a few good interns, and they are looking on YouTube. Surprised? You shouldn't be. In June I spoke at the Arkansas Association of Colleges and Employers. As I travel I always ask my audiences, "What's new in recruiting? What have you seen that's really innovative and cutting edge?" One of the leaders of this group, Ron, mentioned the new campaign that the FBI launched three months ago on YouTube. He was so excited about it that his career center is now in the process of producing something similar to promote internships at his college. Naturally I had to take a look.

» Continue reading "Are You On YouTube?"

Waking the Sleeping Giant - Passive Candidates Won't be Passive for Long!

Bryan Johanson, May 31, 2007

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting, Sourcing

Life in recruiting used to be simple. Recruiters had exclusive jobs to offer to passive candidates who weren't looking for a job. Recruiters were the only ones who knew about these jobs, which gave them some element of control. The internet didn't exist and passive candidates stayed passive. Today the line between passive candidates and active candidates is crossed regularly.

» Continue reading "Waking the Sleeping Giant - Passive Candidates Won't be Passive for Long!"

Retail Marketing Meets Corporate Recruiting

Bryan Johanson, April 19, 2007

Topics: Newsletter, Recruiting, Sourcing

Circuit City has taken a lot of heat in the last few weeks for their recent "wage" action. If you didn't hear, they recently fired hundreds of higher paid ($12/ hour) sales people only to replace them with lower paid ($8/hour) entry level sales - translated "they don't know squat" sales people. A bold but very misguided move on their part. So let's imagine that because of their recent actions they want to dramatically boost sales in the short run. They go out and hire a brand new Vice President of Sales to come up with a whole new approach to retailing. After careful thought, a few late nights and way too many "Red Bulls", the new Vice President decides that what they need is a much more structured and focused sales approach.

» Continue reading "Retail Marketing Meets Corporate Recruiting"

Back Woods Recruiting

Bryan Johanson, March 29, 2007

Topics: Newsletter

Last week I traveled to Pennsylvania to conduct a Recruiter Boot Camp training class for a small recruiting firm in the backwoods of the Poconos. When I say the backwoods, I really mean up in the trees, out in the boonies, and completely isolated. I felt a little like I was entering into a real time warp. Just to give you a flavor for the group, it's like one big happy family. Monday nights and Wednesday nights are reserved for their regular pool tournament. They have a company team and some of them are apparently pretty good players. Tuesdays and Fridays are bowling nights. Thursday is of course date night. The CEO and founder graciously skipped her Wednesday evening at the pool table to join me for dinner.

» Continue reading "Back Woods Recruiting"

The World of Hiring - Changing Faster Than Most Companies Can Respond

Bryan Johanson, March 1, 2007

Topics: Newsletter

Last week we kicked off our live Performance-based Hiring Tour 2007 with the first event in Washington, D.C. to a sold out crowd. On Wednesday evening, Lou Adler hosted 21 recruiting leaders in an intimate roundtable discussion about state-of-the-art recruiting in corporate America. Since it was an invitation only event - all participants were directors and vice presidents of recruiting, or Vice Presidents of HR, with direct responsibility for recruiting.

For those of you who couldn't make it, or would rather be a fly-on-the-wall, I thought I'd share a few of the issues discussed by this high powered group. These may be some of the very issues you'll want to address in your own hiring strategy for 2007.

» Continue reading "The World of Hiring - Changing Faster Than Most Companies Can Respond"

Are You Ready to Interview the Class of 2014?

Bryan Johanson, February 7, 2007

Topics: Newsletter

Today at 2:00, I have the distinct honor of going to my son's 5th grade class and teaching 11-year old kids basic interviewing skills. The class is preparing for their Ameritown project - when they'll actually run a small town for a day. Each student has chosen a job to do and is preparing to compete with other kids in the class for the position they want. My goal is to teach them how to ace the interview to get the best job, while beating their friends in the competition. Sound familiar? I like the whole concept. It's edgy, it's real, and it's a true taste of how it's going to be once they get out of school and into the dog-eat-dog world of business.

» Continue reading "Are You Ready to Interview the Class of 2014?"

Candidates, are they finding your company career web site?

Bryan Johanson, January 17, 2007

Topics: Newsletter

In this week's article, I interview Doug Berg, CEO and Founder of HotGigs. He and his team have recently developed a new product called Jobs2Web which addresses a growing issue for many companies. This interview is not intended to be an endorsement for the Jobs2Web product, but rather an exploration of the issues that make such a product necessary for companies that want to fully leverage the internet for recruiting.

First some background. When the Internet was first invented (not by Al Gore) it was touted as the great disintermediary. No longer would we have to go through middle men to get to products and services. The Internet would flatten the world, allowing buyers to purchase directly from the manufacturer at lower prices, with greater service and more communication. Unfortunately, with only a few exceptions such as Ebay, the first wave of successful Internet companies has really just been another vehicle for middle men to tap their target markets. Job seekers still generally go through middle men like Monster or CareerBuilder.com or any number of other niche sites. With the cost of ads rising (over $400 an ad) and the reach declining, these middle men are getting top dollar, delivering less and providing a market place which does not differentiate job offerings. Doug Berg describes why companies should start driving traffic to their own websites and not rely solely on the job boards. So sit back and enjoy a different world view:

» Continue reading "Candidates, are they finding your company career web site?"

Being Found
How to Help the Hidden Job Market Find You

Bryan Johanson, December 6, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Prior to the advent of Internet job boards, savvy job hunters who wanted to tap into the hidden job market would start by identifying recruiters who had an industry specialty. Job seekers would network directly with the recruiter to get a pulse on who was hiring and what positions were open. Recruiters would keep these candidates' names on file for a rainy day; and, when they were ready to make a move they would start dialing for dollars. The Internet has changed this landscape considerably. The job boards have indeed created a fluid marketplace for talent. However, the best talent still does not look actively; nor, do they want to be found in the resume banks on the Internet.

» Continue reading "Being Found
How to Help the Hidden Job Market Find You"

Putting the Great back in Hiring

Bryan Johanson, November 15, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Fortune magazine ran an article in their October 28^th edition on "What it takes to be Great". If you haven't had a chance to read it, it is well worth your time. I quote liberally from the article below. On one hand, the article has nothing to do with hiring. On the other hand, the article has everything to do with hiring. Everybody wants to hire "great" employees and many managers have a vision in their minds of what would make the perfect employee, but few truly understand the essence of greatness as it relates to a particular job.

» Continue reading "Putting the Great back in Hiring"

Dealing with Darwin

Bryan Johanson, October 25, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

I recently picked up a book entitled Dealing with Darwin - How Great companies Innovate at Every Phase of Their Evolution. The book was recommended to me by John Ganley, former director of recruiting for Quest Software who was recently promoted to Vice President of Human Resources at Quest. This is another Geoffrey Moore book which focuses primarily on high tech companies; however, its lesson can be applied widely across any type of organization and functional group in any size organization. The basic premise of the book is that in order to thrive, companies must innovate. Change is of course inevitable; all innovation is not equal, nor does it provide the same level of benefits to a company or organization. Appropriate innovation is dependent on the product lifecycle, the market, and the customers who are being served.

» Continue reading "Dealing with Darwin"

Technology Won’t Save Us, but The Right Technology Can Help!

Bryan Johanson, October 4, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

In previous articles, I’ve written about the need to reverse engineer job postings to ensure they are visible on the web to prospective candidates. As job boards become more and more busy, employers must go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their opportunities are seen. While we teach some key techniques for accomplishing this in Recruiter Boot Camp, the ultimate solution will eventually be found in enabling technology. Following a recent Recruiter Boot Camp session, one of our attendees confided, “This is great stuff, but where am I going to find the time to do it all?” Herein is one of the great dilemmas of corporate recruiters; they don’t have enough time to do true passive candidate sourcing. Some corporate recruiters don’t even have time to do a great job of active candidate sourcing; so, they end up just administrating the process.

» Continue reading "Technology Won’t Save Us, but The Right Technology Can Help!"

What You Absolutely Must Do to Find Better Candidates

Bryan Johanson, August 30, 2006

Topics: Newsletter, Sourcing

Want to dramatically reduce recruiting costs, improve candidate quality and reduce the time to hire? Who doesn't? Here's a new idea: STOP ADVERTISING ON THE JOB BOARDS. Just say no! Go cold turkey. True, it's a pretty risky strategy if that's your only sourcing channel, but most large corporations report that fewer than 7.5% of all hires come from mainstream job boards. The sea is changing and all indicators point to a dramatic decline in quantity and quality of candidates coming from the job boards. Why not just take a short break and reinvest those dollars in recruiter training, better employee referral programs, networking and relationship recruiting? Maybe the major job boards will get the hint and actually change their approach and come up with better ways to provide real value to the candidates and employers they serve. While part of the blame for this decline lies with the job boards themselves, some of it rightly resides with the companies that use them. A short term time-out may be exactly what we need to spur some serious rethinking of how we use job boards in our overall recruiting strategies.

» Continue reading "What You Absolutely Must Do to Find Better Candidates"

Job Boards - The Neglected Opportunity

Bryan Johanson, July 11, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Below are two facts that illustrate one of the great paradoxes of modern corporate recruiting.

Fact #1: The best people aren't found on the job boards.

Fact #2: 85-90% of corporate recruiters use job boards as their primary (nearly exclusive) source of candidates to fill positions.

Herein lies the paradox! Corporations want to hire the best talent possible, but they structure their corporate recruiting function so their recruiters only have time to source active candidates fishing primarily in the shallow end of the talent pool. Here's what we hear from corporate recruiters about their ability to source passive candidates:

» Continue reading "Job Boards - The Neglected Opportunity"

The Secrets of Sourcing Less Active Candidates - Finally Revealed

Bryan Johanson, June 14, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

For the next few months my column will be devoted to the secrets and nuances of sourcing top employees using the mainstream recruiting tools like Monster, Careerbuilder, Zoom info, Linked-in and a whole host of other tools designed for high volume sourcing. I'll be experimenting with several new ideas and reporting on their success. These tools are the bread and butter for corporate recruiters with lots of requisitions and limited time. If you want to be part of our formal sourcing study or want to contribute some of your own lessons learned using these tools, just drop me a quick email (bryan@adlerconcepts.com) and we'll gladly include your experiences in our research. In the meantime...

» Continue reading "The Secrets of Sourcing Less Active Candidates - Finally Revealed"

Performance-Based Hiring^sm - A Systematic Process of Hiring Top Talent

Bryan Johanson, May 17, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Dr. Edward Deming, the father of Japan's industrial revival and quality movement after World War II is well known for his famous "Red Bead Experiment." In the experiment, students are asked to select a certain percentage of white beads from a jar containing both white and red beads using a small wooden paddle with holes in it. By design, the tool they use produces random results and yet Dr. Demming rewards students who get closer to the right percentage even though the results are completely out of their control. In last week's article Lou made a strong case that HR is wasting a great deal of money by propagating an antiquated, broken and fundamentally flawed hiring process. Much like Demming's experiment, the reason hiring remains the most random business process is the lack of proper tools, process controls and real knowledge about what drives hiring success. This week, part two of our three part series, we'll discuss the investments that companies should make in their hiring process if they want to gain control of their most important procurement process - the process of acquiring the right human capital. Below are the four most important changes companies can make now to save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in wasted time while raising the bar for hiring across the board.

» Continue reading "Performance-Based Hiring^sm - A Systematic Process of Hiring Top Talent"

Crossing the Great Divide Part II

Bryan Johanson, April 19, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Two weeks ago I wrote an article about bridging the gap between the hiring manager and the recruiter. Most of my advice in that column was focused on the hiring manager - in my estimation the weakest link in the hiring process. While hiring managers absolutely need to change some of their bad recruiting habits, much of the burden for helping them make those changes falls squarely on the shoulders of the recruiter. Just to refresh your memory, below is a list of common complaints I hear about corporate recruiters from hiring managers:

» Continue reading "Crossing the Great Divide Part II"

Crossing the Great Divide

Bryan Johanson, April 5, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

I continue to be amazed at the great divide between corporate recruiting professionals and the hiring managers they desperately want to serve. Even with training in the proper tools and techniques there seems to be a great division, a lot of finger pointing and a growing frustration. In the last two weeks I've personally trained several large organizations in the basics of Performance-based hiring^sm. Some of these training sessions were focused on hiring managers and others were focused on the recruiting departments. Here's what I heard from hiring managers:

» Continue reading "Crossing the Great Divide"

OFCCP's Recent Guidelines on Internet Applicants

Bryan Johanson, January 17, 2006

Topics: Newsletter

Last week I started reading "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. His basic premise is that advances in telecommunications, education and the technology infrastructure have dramatically leveled the playing field making it viable for countries like India and the Ukraine to compete globally. His arguments are convincing - the world has indeed become flatter. The flattening process however, is not just limited to high tech sales and support, but has vast implications for human capital markets, recruiting and hiring right here at home.

» Continue reading "OFCCP's Recent Guidelines on Internet Applicants"