Ah, HR Conferences. The swag. The breakout sessions. The embarassingly sloppy happy hours. Recruiting and HR Conference season is fast approaching, which means you'll
need to book some flights or at the very least buckle up for your Twitter feed to be taken over by official hashtags. Today marked the kickoff of TRU's Unconference in the Big Apple, and all the usual suspects are in attendance and sharing their best recruiting secrets. If you were unable to head to NYC for the unevent, we've got you covered. Below are the most insightful and fascinating comments from attendees and quotes from key speakers.
“Your employees are your culture. If you want to know what your culture really is, ask them.” @GerryCrispin #truNewYork
— RecruitingBlogs (@RecruitingBlogs) February 6, 2015
Remember that your culture is not decided by a laminated poster or by decree of an executive. Culture is what happens in the break rooms, at off-site events, and when employees from different teams sit down together to talk about what they're working on. As you frame your EVP for potential hires, survey your candidates and learn what they love about the company and why they work there beyond compensation.
"Every time I hear the word EVP, a small puppy dies." -@BillBoorman #truNewYork
— Stacy Donovan Zapar (@StacyZapar) February 6, 2015
Oops. I said it, didn't I?
Forget @SnapChat. A recruiter already spends 5 seconds looking at your info before it disappears forever. It’s called a resume. #trunyc
— Matt Charney (@mattcharney) February 6, 2015
I too am skeptical about using SnapChat for recruiting. There is certainly an opportunity to build some engagement at the brand level, but as far as 1:1 messaging goes, it seems a bit unprofessional and unwittingly creepy. Unless I had a background with a certain recruiter over a longer period of time, I don't want them SnapChatting me. Matt Charney, in typical Charneyesian fashion, torpedoes the idea by pointing out that recruiters are already breezing over candidate information and there's no need to further shorten the process.
Hmmm @LevyRecruits asks, "Should recruiters have direct work experience in what they are recruiting for?" #truNewYork Thoughts?
— Lisa Rangel (@LisaRangel) February 6, 2015
This is an interesting question, and respondents were divided. Clearly, the more you know about the technologies for which you're recruiting, the more accurately you'll be able to assess candidates. The issue is that technologies evolve so quickly, it's not feasible to have direct experience working with every development. Recruiters ought to strive for a fluency comparable to knowing the amount of French that allows you to order in restaurants and ask 'where is the bathroom?' This will allow you to ask some telling questions that allow a candidate to demonstrate their knowledge and allow you to determine whether they're worth a hiring manager's time.
"People never leave a company because a recruiter contacts them. It's *always* some other root cause." @BTMurr <- Yep! #truNewYork
— Stacy Donovan Zapar (@StacyZapar) February 6, 2015
Here's a great point about the root of why people change jobs. Typically, people who are perfectly happy in their role on all fronts aren't stolen away merely by a seductive bit of recruiting messaging. When it comes to snagging a candidate from another company, timing is everything. Not long ago, we pulled millions of data points to determine when people are mostly likely to leave their jobs. Check it out!
What were your favorite quips from the #TruNewYork Unconference! Leave a comment!
