Diamonds in the Rough - The Overqualified

Tuesday's Update: "What Would You Like Them to Forget?"

"The candidate is overqualified".

We hear this often from clients. Their concern? Once the economy improves the candidate will leave for a better position more in line with their experience. May they do that? Sure - a valid concern. But, wouldn't there be the possibility that a "perfectly", or under qualified candidate would do the same?

Think of it this way - what would you like that overqualified candidate to forget?

There are some good people unemployed right now. Many are finding it difficult to find employment at the level they were at pre-recession. If those candidates are willing to take lower paying positions - what's the downside? The risk that they may leave? Isn't there also a risk that your business may improve or change and you may need some of the skills that they have?

The best employees, when laid off, typically will not sit at home and collect unemployment checks until they run out. The best employees will want to stay busy, doing anything, even at a level lower than where they were before. These are the candidates that we want.

The next time you're thinking this candidate is overqualified ask yourself - what would I like them to forget?

Scott

Diamonds in the Rough?

Conventional wisdom has it that the best candidates are found among those that are currently employed, that as recruiters we should avoid the unemployed. Well, with high unemployment, and a very slow jobs recovery (expected to last for a rather long time) there are some "diamonds in the rough" to be found. Sifting through the masses to identify them can be tricky.

Over the next several days I will provide some tips I've gathered for mining candidates from the unemployment rolls.

Monday's Tip: Why is the Candidate Unemployed?

Over that past couple of years I have had many people in my office asking for my advice on their job search. One of the things I have tried to tell all of them is to be honest - put the reason for leaving every job on your resume. My rationale? Let the screener, HR Professional, hiring manager, whomever, know why you left a job or were laid off. Take the guess work out of the process for them. They are reviewing piles of resumes. Anything the candidate can do to move to the "consideration" pile, rather than the "no" pile will help.

Now - that only really works for good candidates. The one's we're after!

Lot's of people have been laid off over the last couple of years. Some are out of work because their company closed, or their division was moved. If we can verify this, we may have uncovered a diamond in the rough. Good candidates, laid off for reasons beyond their control should be able to explain that, and remain positive and confident. Those candidates unemployed for reasons within their control will tend to explain their employment status in vague terms, or actually become defensive or speak negatively about their previous employer.

Look for candidates unafraid to say they are unemployed, and discuss the circumstances of their separation. Certainly then verify the information.

There are good candidates out there in the pool of unemployed workers, and I will continue to provide tips on attracting and identifying those candidates over the next couple of week.

Scott

Interesting Economic Data

Each month I participate in a webinar focused on economic and other trends in the staffing industry. There was an interesting piece of data that was shared that I thought I would pass along.

Temporary staffing has been the leader in job creation over the past several months. That said - for the first time since the recession began, staffing services are reporting that attracting quality candidates is now a larger "problem" than generating sales. This trend has now reversed itself, indicating a tightening of the qualified pool of candidates. This data seemed convincing to me that, albeit slowly, there are signs of recovery in the economy.

We still believe that an economic and jobs recovery will be slow, and could be positively or negatively impacted by many factors in the coming months.

Scott

Job Numbers - Wading Through the Spin

I came across this article this afternoon, and thought that it provided some good, and somewhat objective data. While I still believe that the economic recovery will proceed slowly, there are positive signs, so long as we keep the political spin doctors and their individual agendas out of the mix!

http://www.theworkbuzz.com/current-affairs/september-job-numbers-redux/

Reaching Gen X and Gen Y Candidates

I came across two pieces of information today that I found interesting, and thought I would pass along.

According to research performed by Forrester:

"who polled nearly 43,000 people during the second quarter of 2010, between Generation X (31 to 44 year olds) and Generation Y (18 to 30 year olds) smartphone ownership stands at 23%. That's roughly 1 out of every 4 people owning a device that gives them access to their social networks, maps, music and even the occasional YouTube video."

And secondly;

"As noted by Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranahan, consumers are adopting the iPad faster than any other consumer electronics device, including the iPhone and the near-ubiquitous DVD player. The iPad's current sales rate is approximately 4.5 million units per quarter, according to Bernstein. That tops the 1 million per quarter that the original iPhone sold at launch, and the 350,000 per quarter when DVD players first launched. " (http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/10/05/ipad.adoption.ars/index.html)

Why do I pass these along? Recruiting. This demographic represents a tremendous number of people. If we're trying to reach them using traditional recruiting means (and even some that seemed "new" and "cutting edge" as recently as a couple of years ago) we simply may be missing them. Traditionally we would advertise in printed newspapers for candidates. Those referenced in the quotes above are getting their local news from smartphone apps. They are most likely not reading the printed version of the newspaper, or watching the TV news broadcast. Their smartphone or iPad is attached to them 24/7. Those devices have replaced the need for a printed newspaper, or watching the local news.

If we are using traditional recruiting resources, or even job boards as our sole recruiting resource we are likely missing opportunities to communicate with this attractive, talented demographic. Consider such resources as pay per click social media advertising; paid ads on local news media "apps"; or keeping in touch with candidates through text messaging or blogging.

At TriStarr we have invested a great amount of time and energy in investigating, and using these and other tools effectively to reach potential candidates so that they are available when you need them. If you are interested in learning more, feel free to contact me, I would be happy to share what we've learned.

Scott