Why Employer Branding Sucks ( What to Do About It)

Why Employer Branding Sucks ( What to Do About It) Whats all this buzz about employer branding? According to  Hung Lee, the founder of recruiting tech platform Workshape, it sucks. He says EB is broken and the candidate experience is currently pretty crappy. Struggling to attract the right types of high-quality talent? Read on for a summary of Hungs cold hard truths on where youre going wrong, and how to fix things. You can also listen to our full interview on iTunes  or  SoundCloud. Why is employer branding broken? I think if you take employer branding as part of a general sort of attempt to position the business and kind of a way to improve your brand presence, for instance, get customer awareness, get all those types of good stuff, then fantastic. I think, to a large extent, the investment that we put into employer branding largely misses the point. And whilst I think its one of those things where I think I value the sentiment, and I totally understand companies being very committed to, you know, presenting the right image, but I think it still doesnt generate great candidate experience on the other side if you think about it. You know, you get lots of companies spending a lot of money building their so-called employer brand, but the fundamental mechanics of how a person experiences that brand, as a candidate, hasnt changed. And that is still quite a negative and frustrating experience for the vast majority of people. Employer branding sucks? Ive mounted an attack on employer branding and I want just qualify that. You know, I dont think its wasted energy per se, but I think a large part, employer branding is designed to improve the experience of the candidate because how can you, you know, have great employer branding if you make your candidates miserable or the applicants miserable? But theres a lack of understanding that its actually the applicant flow itself that creates the negative experience. So, if companies could do a much better job focusing on how they deal with people that interact with their brand after theyve acquired them, thats how you would improve the experience overall. And the key to that is not to force them to apply. What should employers be should be doing instead? my biggest problem with employer branding is that its sort of the front end of what is the standard recruiting funnel. If you look at most, whatever companies do, however innovative it is, ultimately, the call to action is, Oh, apply to this job. And once that person applies to that job, you know what? Straight away, youre dropping in recruitment form on him or her, and that is literally a very processed and reductive activity which I think most people dont welcome. Now, I think you can get away with it when youve got an audience that is, you know, highly interested in job discovery. Where  do they start? So, caveat number one is every company is unique. So, youve gotta start internally. You know whenever you see a best practice blog or article out there, you always get kind of a tidal wave of negative response, no matter who actually produces it. And the reason why that is, is because best practice assumes that every company is kind of a venture same. And of course, they arent. So, first thing to do is to understand what your company is in terms of, you know, how interested you are in this activity. Youve gotta analyze, for instance, how many people youve got involved in managing recruiting. Like, is it a priority? Lots of companies say, you knowthe rhetoric is, Im sure, you know, everyone says, Oh, our people are the most important part of our business, but lets see whether that maps to reality. Is the budget there for this? Is there people in charge of talent on the top table of the business? You know, what is the commitment of it? What trends should we keep an eye on? 1. Artificial intelligence I think you need to look at artificial intelligence. And by this, I mean automated recruiters, automated job search agents. These are kind of little programs that are trying to solve the discovery problem in a totally different way. Its not about search, its not about ads, its not even about what we do, which is match. Its about basically empowering a digital agent to go out there and find what you want for you. Now, I think that is going to be a hugely interesting segment. 2. Blockchain if you like, a macro trend as to where we are is blockchain. I think a lot of people dont quite understand how blockchain tech applied to the world of work. But to kind of dumb it down to a level where it shouldnt go, but sort of for the sake of, you know, trying to do a quick explanation, blockchain is essentially the technology which allows you to track transaction but also protect the identity. So right now, its predominantly used for financial transactions, you can trade with it, bitcoins, etc. But of course, its clearly applied to the world of work. Imagine if youre in a situation where you produced a brilliant bit of copy, Jorgen. You ideally wanna track that copy wherever it might be replicated. Why could you not get a royalty for that? Right now, thats impossible for you to do. But with blockchain tech, that allows you to do it because its public ledger of the content that youve produced and the structure youve produced it. Suddenly, you can start seeing workers basically usi ng blockchain tech to validate that, Yes, I am the owner of this bit of labor and I should be paid for this labor. Thats gonna have huge, transformative effects society-wide, I suspect. 3. Digital predictions And the third major trend would probably be another application of AI. But rather than using agents, I think were gonna get to the point where we do have the ability to predict fit and performance based on what this persons behaviors and digital footprint might be. And this goes way back for you and I, Jorgen, when we were, you know, first looking at social media influencing and all of this type of stuff. And those signals at that point were very crude, you know? How many followers? was more or less the measure. But were getting to the point now where I think theres so much data that everyone produces, inevitably produces, that you know, were not even aware of.

Resume Writing for Career Change - VocationVillage

Resume Writing for Career Change - VocationVillage A lot of people believe that resume writing for career change means that you use tricky resume formatting to hide the skills gaps for whatever experience you dont have and that you can rely on transferable skills to convince hiring managers and recruiters that whatever you did in the past is relevant to what you want to do next. I have long suspected that these resume strategies dont work! To investigate this question, I recently showed employment experts a specific resume for a career changer, Mary, who wants to move into web project management.Mary has been job hunting for a full-time web project management position for three years. She is frustrated because she has a lot of experience with technical project management, but she isnt getting invited to interviews for what she really wants to do.Marys previous career experience includes freelance production of television commercials, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and printed books. Mary has also taken some classes in XHTML and CS S. Her new job objective is to manage web projects. The positions she seeks have titles such as Interactive Project Manager or Creative Web Manager. The feedback Mary has heard most frequently is that she is being held back by her lack of advertising agency background and experience managing websites. Marys job search is stalled because she doesnt have the exact history of accomplishments that hiring managers want to see, and the hiring managers arent buying her assertion that she has sufficient transferable skills to learn the new job.To assist Mary, I interviewed hiring managers, recruiters, and career coaches. They reviewed Marys resume and then generously shared their best tips for resume writing for career change. Their suggestions for Mary can help any stuck job seeker because it helps to see how employers and employment experts think. (To protect Marys privacy, I am not publishing Marys resume online, but I include sufficient context that the suggestions still make sense). He re is career advice for Mary and for every other job seeker who is faced with the task of creating a resume for career change:Paul Bailo, CEO of Phone Interview Pro: It is a mistake if your resume never specifically uses the titles of your current career goals, Interactive Project Manager, or Creative Project Manager. You should definitely include the titles you are pursuing.Dont put irrelevant information on your resume because it makes it too difficult to follow. Focus it more and pare it down to one page.If you want to be a doctor, you go to medical school. If you want to be a Project Manager, you get PMP certified.To get some relevant web-based experience, create a web company and be the PM for the companys website development. Make sure it is a GREAT website.Linda Ziemba, VP Sales and Marketing for LiveLOOK, Inc. , provider of innovative collaboration solutions designed for online sales and service:To get web-based experience, one suggestion is to get involved with an enterprise development center that runs a program connecting potential employees with start-up companies. You can volunteer with a few companies to demonstrate your capabilitie s, get the experience potential employers want, and determine if you like the company. It may lead to a full-time position or worst case, fill in skills gaps.Kristen Harris, Co-Founder and Owner of Portfolio Creative, a workforce innovation firm:Employers read resumes VERY quickly. They skim, really, looking for specific words, phrases, previous employers, software, and skills. They do not generally take the time to interpret or try to decipher things that are unclear. You have to be concise and clear or you likely wont be invited for an interview.When writing a resume for career change, dont list skills that are not specifically relevant to the position you are seeking now. For web-based project management, include skills such as Interactive Project Management, Creative Team Management, Client Relations, Multimedia Productions, Creative Project Management, Interactive Agency Experience, Budget and Schedule Management, etc. This list must match closely the skill list of the position being sought. Otherwise, you lose the employers attention and they move on to the next resume.Look for positions that build on your previous background. If you have worked mostly on the client or company side rather than the agency side, look at larger companies that have or are building internal web and multimedia teams. They dont care as much about agency experience; in fact, having internal company experience could be a bonus or them.You have some good experience but it is getting lost in all the experience that isnt so relevant. Be more targeted. Check out job postings and employer websites to see what keywords and phrases they use. If you have done that same type of work, call it the same thing. Right now you are asking them to do some interpretation and make assumptions about whether your previous work is the same as what they do.Bruce A. Hurwitz, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, Ltd., executive recruiting and career counseling.First, only apply for jobs for which you are qualified. Since I dont see the titles, Interactive Project Manager, or Creative Project Manager on your resume, I can only assume that the job descriptions on your resume dont match the requirements listed on the ads.When you say you have, Professional Consulting Experience, this can be code for, I cant get a full-time job. Many of my clients want candidates with corporate experience, not self-employed experience. Dont lie, but if you DO have experience being an employee, definitely highlight that.Your resume has keywords on it that arent the same keywords sought by employers who want to hire Interactive Project Managers. Your resume should begin with a Selected Accomplishments section and it should have five or six bullet points geared toward the jobs for which you are applying. That way, you are framing the discussion around your candidacy and the HR Director will know why you should be considered.You may be a victim of age discrimination. Yo u dont list graduation dates under Education so the assumption may be that you are old.In the past 10 years, you have had 7 jobs. You have never been unemployed but you are a jumper and that is definitely of concern to employers.There is one typo. There are plenty of employers who reject applicants because of one typo on a resume.Laurence Shatkin, Ph.D., Senior Product Developer, JIST Publishing, a Divison of EMC/Paradigm:If you want to manage a creative development project in the field of interactive media, you need a technical background. Employers will not hire you on the basis of management experience or a track record of creativity if you lack credentials in technical skills.Jack Williams, VP of Sales and Recruiting for Staffing Technologies, provider of information technology and telecommunications resources for both large and small companies:The word freelance shows up way too often in your resume. Prospective technical employers might see the word freelance as someone who wo rks only occasionally. Consider changing this throughout your resume, from Freelance Producer, to something like, Video Producer, or Digital Video Producer.When resume writing for career change, you have to know the current lingo. The word digital is hot within creative agencies. The reason is most agencies are developing online content, the majority of which can be online or on TV simultaneously. So the word digital is the buzz word that could put you on the map. Consider changing your title from Producer to Digital Producer and just as important, dont describe past employers as boutique firms, which simply makes your experience seem too small or too specific. You can say small digital design firm.You seem to be someone with good experience but you are using very marketing-ish descriptions of past companies as if they make sense. Instead of using marketing verbiage from your previous employers websites, shorten the descriptions to things like digital design firm with a focus on med ia and technology, and then include the URL for these companies. Hiring managers of creative people want to see a portfolio and/or work samples. The websites for places youve worked and been successful are the places to start marketing yourself.Amy Segelin, President of Chaloner Associates, a national executive search firm with offices in NYC and Boston:From the looks of your resume, it is fairly generic and frankly I dont see much evidence of interactive work or successes so I am not surprised that you are not being considered. I encourage you to cull out some specific examples of your work in the online space and talk about them in the appropriate section. If you dont have that type of experience, you wont be qualified for the job.Ad agencies will definitely want agency experience. I encourage you to look at in-house operations that offer a mix of traditional and online design requirements so that you can more easily parlay your experience while learning new skills.To recap, if Ma ry wants to optimize her resume for career change, she likely needs to add to her skills and to more specifically target her resume.I recommend that any stalled job seeker get this type of feedback from people who are industry experts. Even if their advice is sometimes difficult to hear, wouldnt you rather know what decision-makers are thinking rather than continue to throw resumes into the black hole of the hiring void? Many times the antidote for job search paralysis is better information so that you can take effective action. So if you are stuck in your job search and you arent sure what to do next, get busy asking people for help and advice (not jobs) it works!

How To Build Perfect Skincare Routine This Spring

How To Build Perfect Skincare Routine This Spring Whether or not your daily skincare routine is flowing with pure love and utmost care for your skin, there is one important point in skincare that you cannot afford to ignore. That thing you can’t neglect is that your skin needs the same kind of attention but a different approach to care depending on the season.  Loving Your Skin Beyond Reason Caring for your skin is like being on a mission â€" there is a purpose, a strategy and a tactic.   Every product and technique in your routine must fall into place, each one contributing to the delivery of a successful mission. Your responsibility to your skin goes beyond knowing   how to remove wrinkles.   These guidelines for putting together a Spring-appropriate skincare routine will teach you how to give raw love to your skin â€" no questions asked and no reasons required: Get better acquainted with your skin. Even though you may have evaluated your skin more closely before, it pays to do this periodically because your skin changes all the time. The seasonal turnover is the best time to do just that. Have ready answers to questions about your skin type and your skin worries.   Your responses will factor into the kind and quality of skincare you ought to give to your skin. Make a decision about what your most pressing skin issue is because you simply cannot fight your war against aging and deteriorating skin from all fronts all at the same time or, that will probably cause you more complicated problems. Just think, difficult problems often need simple solutions. This is one way to simplify your tactical approach. Factor in your age. Your skin needs change all the time. One of the determining factors is your birth age but, it will also be helpful for you to be frank and prudent about your skin age. It’s possible you may be suffering from premature skin aging. Know that miscalculating your skin age can be counterproductive to an otherwise healthy and age-appropriate skincare routine too. Retinol use, for one, must be delayed for as long as possible because long-term use leads to photosensitivity and that means your skin gets damaged by sun exposure more easily. Skin age is a helpful determinant of what your primary skincare strategy is. In the case of premature skin aging, that will have to be slowing down the rate of skin aging. Assess the prevailing climate conditions. This is the reason why you don’t find the products you buy from a store on an overseas trip does not quite feel as if it complements your skin the same way products at home do. Manufacturers have known for a long time that products sell not just out of creating artificial needs among its target consumers but also, by coming up with formulations that work or, at least feel like they do. As such, products are formulated differently depending on local conditions. Evaluate your routine. Based on the first three factors, adjust your routine accordingly. A cream, like Strivectin, that feels appropriate and moisturizing in winter may not feel the same in summer when the environment is humid, hot, dry and sticky all at the same time. When Spring begins, you need something lighter that’s just as moisturizing but, one that won’t leave a greasy streak on the surface.  Know when and where your skin needs more help. Everyone’s got a skin problem. It can’t be everything but, there is one thing that makes you feel bad about your skin. Some people have chronic sensitivity issues, some deal with acne, others worry about dry skin, while some are bothered with their excessively greasy skin. Treat it. Don’t run around in circles chasing a cure. Get to know the science behind your skin issues and be straightforward with your treatment. Whatever path you choose, one thing is for certain, and that is, that treating your skin issue needs to be managed more systemically. You need a more holistic care that integrates your products, procedures and lifestyle in one full strategy. That’s the only way you can beat bad skin. 5 Amazing Benefits of Red Wine for your Beauty   Conclusion  Sigourney Weaver once pointed out that, ”It’s important to grow old gracefully, and thats what I plan to do. I am here to stay. I take care of myself, and I have the discipline to stay fit and have good health until I am very old.” You want healthy, beautiful, ageless skin? You should do the same as Sigourney Weaver does.