When it comes to enhancing applicant tracking software, Facebook and LinkedIn are the best social media venues out there. But Google+ recently moved into the neighborhood and experienced a surge in users after opening up to the public.

Google+ may not make it in the long haul. After all, Facebook has around 700 million users and LinkedIn has around 120 million. Both companies have adapted to mobile technology and have the resources – both human and monetary – to continue to improve their products

But if any company’s up to the challenge of taking on Facebook and LinkedIn, it’s Google. Google is worth a lot (over $200 billion), is also devoted to R&D, and has the money and people to develop and improve its products.

For now, Google+ is more geared toward sharing with friends and family (Like Facebook) than professional socializing (Like LinkedIn). But as we all know, businesses use Facebook all the time, and all kinds of people use Facebook for business. HR professionals who use applicant tracking software know it’s a great tool for managing a company’s database of candidates, but it’s not a great way for candidates to interact with companies. That’s where the social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and maybe Google+ come in.

Will Google+ be able to imitate Facebook and LinkedIn’s community and engagement functionality for recruiters? In all likelihood, yes and the key is its “Circles” feature.

This feature allows the user to divide up “friends” into circles, so the user has a school circle, a job circle, a close friends circle, a family circle, and so on. It’s easy, then, to communicate messages to specific circles – who wants to share information about a great date with Uncle Joe and Aunt Mary, for example? Facebook has been working on this problem for a while, and recently came out with “friend lists” following the launch of Google’s “Circles”.

The “Circles” feature will allow users to bracket off their professional/work life, and that, I think, will make people more comfortable participating in job-searching, referring, and other activities that recruiters can capitalize on.

BUT – it all depends on the numbers that Google+ can generate. Google+ recently hit 50 million users after opening up to the public. If it can top the 100 million mark and keep improving its interface, I’d certainly use it to complement my applicant tracking software.  Time will tell but for now, we’ll continue to dabble in Google+, just in case it becomes the social media of choice for the recruiting industry and job seekers.

What’s your experience with Google+? Do you think it will be a good recruiting and staffing tool? Please share your thoughts below and join the ongoing conversation about social media, recruiting software, and the ongoing challenges of recruiting.

More Recruiters start Using Google+ is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

We don’t just produce great recruiting software. We also regularly put out white papers based on our industry research and expertise. Here are four of the latest:

Google+ for Recruiting – Integrate or Wait? There’s lots of buzz about this new social media tool, but what is really known about how it works? And can it be used profitably by recruiters – as, say, Facebook and LinkedIn can? Read this white paper to make the most informed decision about whether Google+ should be integrated into your recruiting operations.

Develop a Comprehensive Recruitment Strategy With Social Media. Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media venues are incredible recruiting resources – if you know how to use them. Read this white paper and learn how to screen candidates and expand your pool of qualified passive candidates via social media contacts. You’ll also learn how to automate job alerts and audit trails so that you can easily measure the success of your social media efforts.

Top 10 Tips For Corporate Recruitment Management. Despite incredible advances in supply chain management in many industries, the staffing and recruiting world remains resistant to automating and streamlining the hiring process. It’s time for companies to think about human capital as a supply chain that can be efficiently managed. Basically, this is a really short version of my book Human Capital Supply Chains.

Software as a Service: A Buyer’s Guide. If you’re wondering what cloud computing is all about, this is a good resource. Software as a service – or SaaS – gives small- to medium-sized businesses access to software that, just 10 years ago, only the biggest companies could afford. And that includes recruiting software, of course! This guide is 67 pages long, but don’t worry – only some of it pertains SaaS in general and the HR industry specifically.

Want to access any (or all) of these white papers? Simply click on the title.

Contact us for more information about recruiting software resources and other tools in the recruiting industry.

4 Great White Papers for Recruiting Professionals is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. The Use of Social Networks in Recruiting Continues to Grow In two previous posts I discussed whether LinkedIn will Replace...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s that time of the year again! College grads are hitting the workforce, and their prospects look better than the rest of the population’s.

According to a recent article on ere.net (a helpful source of recruiting news), the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Hiring Index reports a recent jump in both recruiting and hiring of college students.

The article also states that these bumps counteract a recent downward trend.  Below are a few more details from the article:

• The outlook for college hiring in 2011 was 13.5 percent higher than the outlook in 2010.
• Nearly 50 percent of companies surveyed expected to increase the number of college hires – up from 16.9 percent the year before!
• Alas, 40 percent of companies planned to decrease their college hires and 10 percent thought that their college hiring levels wouldn’t change. The silver lining in such numbers: they’re not planning on laying off recent college hires.

Our nation has never really experienced long-term unemployment for significant numbers of recent college graduates, and we certainly don’t want to start now. A look at post-communist countries and the modern Middle East shows us that high unemployment among well-educated twenty- and thirty-somethings drags down an entire society. Getting young people into the workforce directs their energy to the greater good and away from civilization-destroying activities and overdependence on government

If you have stories about your company’s college recruiting strategies, please post a comment below. When the National Association of College and Employer’s next index come out, I’ll include it in my reflections.

For ongoing thoughts about talent management, recruiting software, and other recruiting issues, subscribe to this blog.

College Recruiting Has A Heartbeat !! is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

 Today is another addition to those “literary posts” that I have already shared with you. This day is a day we take some additional advice from the greatest playwright of our time and apply it to the business world and your recruiting department, because what Shakespeare taught us about love and war, he can also teach us about business. These lessons are most applicable to your Internal Recruiting Staff.  Today’s topic: Othello.

If you are unfamiliar with the plot of the play, here is a very brief summary: This is another of William Shakespeare’s tragedies centered on a man named Othello, a highly esteemed general in the Venetian service. He has an ambitious friend named Iago who becomes incredibly jealous when he promotes another friend, Michael Cassio to the position of personal lieutenant. Iago starts a campaign to smear Othello’s name. Othello elopes with his love, Desdemona, but Iago continues to plot against them. This causes Othello to become suspicious of Desdemona and, not knowing of his friend’s treachery, confides in Iago that he plans to poison her. He finds out the truth after it is too late.

There are three lessons we can learn from this play that apply in the business world and your office environment, and they are…

1.  Don’t let jealousy or negative emotion prevent you from making a practical decision. Othello let the jealousy that he felt with Desdemona cloud his decision making. He was so convinced that the things Iago was telling him were true that he didn’t stop to think about what the truth actually was or could have been and instead acted emotionally instead of logically. This can happen to you as well with any business decision – emotions like excitement, eagerness, or the more negative ones like those plaguing Othello in the play – can make you act too rashly or make poor decisions. Think first, and then act.
2. Don’t cut yourself off from others. When Othello, Desdemona and the others left Venice for the island, they found themselves with little to nothing to do. Because of this, they did one of the only things that they could think to do and that was pick apart and turn on each other (sound familiar ???). Always promote clarity and community within your office. Frequently, people say or do things that can cause big ripples without even realizing the extent of their comments, so good policy and clarity of communication and focus is very beneficial.
3. Keep your cards close to your chest. I’m not saying that it is bad to trust people that you work with, but I do think that it is good never to let any single person know everything you have planned. If you spread information out between various sources you can still get the feedback you need to help you create a greater picture. If Othello had not shared his plan with Iago, he may have had more time to stew and realize the negative aspects of what he wanted to do.

 The point of these “literature” blogs is to remind you that the best ways to handle your business is to learn that lessons can be found just about anywhere and the sooner you start looking, the more you will find them in places you would never expect. To stay at the edge of issues on HR and staffing, be sure to subscribe to the Human Capital Supply Chain Blog.

Shakespeare Returns to HR is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. The Liberal Arts CEO and Shakespeare We take some advice from the greatest playwright of our...
2. Would You Hire Romeo & Juliet ?? Recently I have reminded you about how I have a...
3. HR Thought Leadership and YOU Part 2 There are common traits that can be found in those...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Recently I have reminded you about how I have a daughter who studies philosophy and literature in college. Her and I frequently discuss the ways in which the worlds of business and the world of art and literature coincide. Not too long ago, we related this back to Shakespeare’s Hamlet and how lessons learned from that could apply in both words. Today we’re taking some more advice from the greatest playwright of our time and applying it to the business world, because what Shakespeare taught us about love and war, he can also teach us about business. Today’s topic: Romeo and Juliet.

If you are unfamiliar with the plot of the play, here is a very brief summary: It is set in the city of Verona, a violent and feuding place with two noble families locked in an ongoing war. Romeo and Juliet, the children of two of these families, become involved in a passionate love affair and are forced to keep that love hidden from their respective families. This leads to the deaths of both the children and in the end their families, all too late, put their feud behind them.

1.       Communication is one of the most important things when it comes to relations with other people. While it will not be as extreme in a business situation as it was for Romeo and Juliet, miscommunication can cause a lot of problems. Romeo and Juliet met their demise because of bad timing and poor communication – because they did not go to the source or speak directly to one another, and instead used other modes and assumed that they would work. Always double check the memos you sent out, always call back a day or two later to make sure that the messages you left were received. It is always better to be sure that contact was made than to wait until it is too late to recover if they were lost.
2.       Honesty is always the best policy. The progeny of the two families in the play were led to deceit because they felt that if they told the truth, everything would fall apart and be thrown into chaos. The fact of the matter, though, is that they had no definite, sure idea what would happen, but chose to act on the assumption that something bad would. Their avoidance of the truth led to their demise – if they had been honest, there is no denying that things could have ended up much better for them. This concept applies to practicing of business as well. Our fears are always worse than any repercussion from telling the truth – if something goes wrong, admit to it and work through it instead of hiding it away. If it is hidden, things only get worse and you end up having to lie more to cover up the original one and eventually it will be out of your control. Romeo and Juliet learned the hard way, not everyone has to.

The point of these blogs is to remind you that the best ways to handle your business and lessons to learn these things by can be found just about anywhere and the sooner you start looking, the more you will find in places you would never expect. Whether it is the back of cereal boxes or conversation with your children as opposed to business journals and social media, there is always something to be learned. To stay at the edge of issues on HR and staffing, be sure to subscribe to the Human Capital Supply Chain Blog.

Would You Hire Romeo & Juliet ?? is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. HR Thought Leadership and YOU Part 2 There are common traits that can be found in those...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

An article in the New York Times suggests that employers and employees alike might be moving toward a temporary-centric staffing model.

In November 2010, 80% of the 50,000 jobs created in the private sector were temporary positions. For all of 2010, a bit more than 26% of 1.17 million jobs were temporary positions. That’s a lot.

What are we to make of such high numbers of temporary positions? There are, I think, two possibilities:

1.      What we are seeing is a standard trend of a recovering economy. In past recessions, a jump in temporary hiring has always preceded a steady rise in long-term hiring. Overall economic growth for 2010 was 2.9%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis – a good number, to be sure.

If growth in the next few years remains steady or improves, it’s just a matter of time, some would say, before employers start creating more full-time positions.

2.      We are witnessing the beginning of a long-term trend toward more temporary employment. (And that’s across the board: blue collar, office, and highly skilled and specialized workers.)

Even before the recession, employers were getting skittish about the high healthcare costs associated with full-time employees.

In addition, work in general was becoming more project-based, demanding fewer full-time project managers and more temporary teams of workers.

Advances in staffing software have also enabled employers to better predict their employment needs, leading them to cut down on expensive full-time hires.

In short, the recession pushed employers to a new staffing model: hire a minimum amount of full-time workers and use staffing agencies and independent contractors as needed to fill out the rest of the workforce.

Which of these is correct? Only time will tell, of course. If we see economic growth surge past 4% in 2011, the competition for qualified workers will force employers to make more full-time offers. If growth hovers between 2.5% and 3.5%, expect temporary employment to account for a large number of new jobs.

My guess is that there’s something else that’s changing in the larger workforce. More people – especially highly skilled people – are opting for a freelance, independent contractor lifestyle.

The growth of information technology and sophisticated telecommunications makes it easier than ever to work from home (or the coffee shop, library, or any place with an Internet connection), which in turn makes it easier, if you have skills that are in demand, to broker yourself out to multiple employers.

If that’s the case, then temporary employment will be on the rise for many years to come.

But my guess is just that – a guess. There simply are no good statistics available on independent contracting. You can be sure, though, that I’ll be keeping my eye on – and commenting on – employment statistics as they come out.

For more up-to-date news on recruiting and staffing software, follow the Human Capital Supply Chain blog and subscribe to our newsletter.

Is Temporary Staffing Permanent Now? is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A while ago, I mentioned to you about how I have a daughter who studies philosophy and literature in college. We’ve discussed multiple different ways her world of arts and my world of business coincide and have even produced a blog from one of those very discussions. This time we have a series of blogs set up for you, this being the first. This day is a day we take some advice from the greatest playwright of our time and apply it to the business world, because what Shakespeare taught us about love and war, he can also teach us about business. Today’s topic: Hamlet.

If you are unfamiliar with the plot of the play, here is a very brief summary: A ghost has been haunting Elsinore castle, bearing an amazing resemblance to a recently deceased King Hamlet. The Prince, son of the king, also named Hamlet, learns from this ghost that his father was murdered by a man named Claudius. The play is about Hamlet’s decisions in relations to his father’s death and whether or not to take revenge on Claudius.

 There are three lessons we can learn from this play that apply in the business world, and they are…

1. Nothing is certain.  We must always be prepared for the worst. In Hamlet’s case, it’s making sure that there aren’t men waiting to kill him behind every curtain. In our case, it is about properly taking care of our employees and ourselves in order to keep everyone happy (and healthy). We can never be certain that a plan will work out so we must exhaust all options to ensure that it does. If we have a business meeting coming up, we should consult multiple people in order to make the best plan of order, just like Hamlet consults with multiple people to help solidify what he plans on doing.
2. When is the right time to act, and when isn’t. In the play, Hamlet goes to great extent to find out the truth about whether Claudius is truly guilty for his father’s death. He does not instantly assume that the ghostly apparition that spoke to him is right. In the business world, it is a daunting task to keep track of the truth, but it is a necessary one. Before taking action, always take everything in to consideration. If you hear something unpleasant about one of your employees that could bring shame to your company, find out the truth first. Talk to the employee themselves, ask around. If you do this before making any rash decisions, you may save yourself a lot of trouble. At the very least, unlike Hamlet, you will not have to worry about any goblets filled with poison.
3. Revenge doesn’t help anyone. When it comes to conflict in the office, it is always good to let yourself cool down and assess the situation before striking out. In Hamlet’s case, a swift set of vengeful actions results in nearly everyone’s demise. This is a bit extreme in comparison to conflicts in the office, but the idea is still the same: stay calm, think first.

The point of these blogs is to remind you that the best ways to handle your business and lessons to learn these things by can be found just about anywhere and the sooner you start looking, the more you will find in places you would never expect. To stay at the edge of issues on HR and staffing, be sure to subscribe to the Human Capital Supply Chain Blog.

The Liberal Arts CEO and Shakespeare is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. HR Thought Leadership and YOU Part 2 There are common traits that can be found in those...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

An HR thought leader is someone who has innovative ideas and concepts – someone who, despite what is going on around them, defies convention and tries something new and succeeds. It is a term that was coined over fifteen years ago and has a lot of new dynamics in the current age. I have recently written to you about resources for those who desire to be on the track to HR thought leadership but there is more to sharing innovative ideas than just outlets. There are common traits that can be found in those who are HR thought leaders in this day and age and my goal is to share some of those with you today so that you may hone such traits in yourself and your work.

1.       Fearlessness. If you want your voice to be heard and your idea to be listened to, it is very likely that you will have to put yourself in multiple situations that could very well be outside the realm of your comfort zone. It’s okay! Do it! Talk to people you don’t know, ask questions that you need answers to, go to meetings and conferences and forums and you will begin to be recognized as long as you are not afraid to put yourself out there. No harm in trying, no matter what.
2.       Passion. One thing that can make a lot of ideas fall flat is a lack of passion. You may have an idea that you know could be very marketable but for some reason it just doesn’t inspire you or fire you up like other things do. People can sense this. People can tell when what you are pitching to them is something that comes from deep down inside. People respond well to “belly fire” more so than they do to most other things. If you want to be a thought leader, you have to believe in what you are doing. Don’t do anything halfway.
3.       Humility. Even if you’re positive that your idea is the best idea in the entire history of ideas, there is always room for growth. Remember this and stay humble because any help is useful help and you never know when some advice may make all the difference. People don’t want to help someone who believes they will never need it. Sometimes you do.
4.        Drive. Never! Give! Up! That’s the most important lesson here – drive. If you want to fly higher than anyone else, you have to continue to practice your craft, hone your work. You have to put in extra hours, get up early, write it all down, and keep on growing and working and believing. If you really believe you can do it, you have to keep doing it until you reach your goal. Once you reach your goal, keep climbing.

In the end, being an HR thought leader comes down to you. It comes down to your confidence and your drive. It comes down to your desire to really share your ideas with the world. If you believe you can change it, there’s no reason not to try. To stay at the edge of issues on HR and staffing, be sure to subscribe to the Human Capital Supply Chain Blog.

HR Thought Leadership and YOU Part 2 is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. Are YOU an HR Thought Leader ?? A thought leader is someone who has innovative ideas and...
2. Listen to YOUR employees, PLEASE Four things to take in to consideration in order to...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Social Media, recently and over the past few years, has gotten bigger and bigger. With websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many others, a whole new path of interaction for businesses and their recruiteres has been opened. It gives companies a chance to make new connections with potential passive contacts. Just like with anything, there are many great ways it can be utilized by recruiters, but there are also a number of potholes to look out for if you want to make sure to use social networking in the best way.

1. Spam. A lot of social media websites lend themselves to being used constantly. While tweeting or posting what you’re doing every ten minutes might be okay for a personal account on one of these websites, if your business does the same, people will get annoyed fast. If your tweets are so frequent that they fill up the feeds of everyone following you – whether or not the content you are posting may be relevant or interesting – they will get annoyed and could be compelled to remove you from their feed. Like with all things, moderation is important.
2. Inactivity. On the opposite side of posting too much is not posting enough. Once you make an account on a social networking site and people know that you are there, if you abandon it, it is likely that potential candidates, customers or contacts will see it and assume that you are no longer in business, or some other unfortunate outcome.
3. Impersonal. Just like with the two sides of the coin when it come to how much content you post, there is the question of what content you post. I have seen Facebook pages for companies that have little to no information save for a link to their company’s website and a few words. While this may seem more stoic and businesslike, it leaves a lot to be assumed. Having some information about the company, and even the people who work there, adds a personal touch and as long as it is done tastefully, can help keep people revisiting your page.
4. Too personal. The other side of this coin is posting too much personal information. It’s endearing to see a post celebrating someone’s birthday or something that is as much of a milestone as that, but if too much is posted, such as a comment about office shenanigans multiple times a day, it gives an air that is not as businesslike as most people prefer.
5. Lack of interaction. Remember that just posting tweets or updates isn’t the only way to take part in social networking, but discussing and interacting with others who are posting on their own and your pages as well can make you more interesting to them and others who see their pages.

 I hope that these five things to look out for will help you better manage your social networking now and for the time to come. To stay at the edge of issues on HR and staffing, be sure to subscribe to the Human Capital Supply Chain Blog.

Top 5 Social Networking Potholes is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

Related posts:

1. The Use of Social Networks in Recruiting Continues to Grow In two previous posts I discussed whether LinkedIn will Replace...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In two previous posts I discussed whether LinkedIn will Replace Monster & Careerbuilder and shared 5 Ways Staffing Professionals Can Leverage LinkedIn.  Here are some stats with regards to how many of your recruiting peers are using social media now or are planning to in the next 12 months. I hope you’re one of them!

Survey results from Jobvite’s 2010 recruiting survey found that 83% of respondents (over 600 human resources and recruitment professionals completed Jobvite’s online survey) use or plan to use social networking for recruiting in 2011. The big sites used: LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Regarding candidate quality, respondents rates job boards worst, referrals best, and social networks somewhere in the middle

Some more interesting numbers from the survey:

• 46% of respondents plan to spend more on social recruiting in the coming year
• 36% will spend less on job boards and 38% will spend less on third party recruiters and search firms
• 71% of survey respondents are hiring
• 92% of those actively hiring currently use or plan to recruit via social networks

What does this all mean? I don’t know if the days of Monster and Careerbuilder are numbered – they still have significant databases, and Careerbuilder, at least, has enough money to advertise during the Super Bowl – but the enormous potential of the “big three” social networking sites for recruiting is definitely untapped as many recruiters and organizations still struggle with exactly how to incorporate social media into their marketing mix AND keep permanent records of all those conversations in their recruiting software.

The companies that are truly leading the field are using recruiting and staffing software that incorporates social media making it even faster and easier to stay connected with candidates and clients.

These numbers also mean that job seekers should definitely incorporate social media into their job hunting toolbox.

If you’re not sure how to use social media in recruiting, stay subscribe to this blog as I’ll be passing on tips for using social networking for recruiting. If you have some of your own, please share them below.

The Use of Social Networks in Recruiting Continues to Grow is a post from: Human Capital Supply Chains

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.