Personality Tests in Recruitment: A Match?

The use of personality assessment tests in the recruitment process has been a topic of extensive discussion. While some experts argue against using personality tests for hiring purposes, many recruiters still rely on these tests to identify the most suitable candidates for specific positions.

The reason is simple: personality is a scientifically validated predictor that provides valuable insights into candidates' behavioral tendencies within a particular work environment, helping recruiters gauge whether an individual will excel or be a good fit for the role.

When used appropriately, personality assessments can serve as a crucial and objective tool in the recruitment process, reducing discrimination based on factors such as ethnicity and gender. However, it's essential to note that personality assessments should not be the sole determinant in hiring decisions.

The Power of Personality Tests in Predicting Job Success

Can personality predict job performance? Absolutely. Personality shapes a significant influence over our behavior, attitude, and habits, making it a reliable factor for forecasting a candidate's potential job performance.

For instance, when hiring a salesperson, it is important to consider personality traits that align with the job requirements. Employees thrive when their personal inclinations align with their job responsibilities. In other words, individuals perform better when their natural tendencies are in sync with their job demands.

Consider a scenario where two candidates possess similar education, experience, and cognitive abilities. By using a personality test like the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), it becomes possible to discern their differences across various scales. The candidate scoring higher on the flexibility scale, for example, might be more inclined to succeed in a sales role.

The suitability of personality assessment

As an employer or recruiter, you should be careful when incorporating personality tests into the recruitment process. Poor decisions and potential legal issues can arise if the assessments used are not psychometrically validated for hiring purposes. Therefore, it is essential to select personality assessment techniques specifically designed for selection and hiring.

When integrating such assessments, always prioritize the validity and reliability of the assessment method. But what do reliability and validity mean in this context? Reliability refers to obtaining consistent results when assessing an individual, multiple times using the same tests. Validity, on the other hand, pertains to the assessment's effectiveness in measuring what it is intended to measure.

Notably, many personality assessments available on the market lack sufficient reliability and validity. It is imperative to avoid using such tools to support the recruitment process. Instead, seek documented evidence demonstrating that an assessment meets the criteria for validity and reliability.

Integrating Personality Tests in the Recruitment Process

Having understood the value of personality tests in the hiring process, let's explore how to effectively use them to improve the quality of hires.

1. Develop a Sustainable Hiring Process

To begin, establish a sustainable and technology-driven hiring process. Identify any existing challenges hindering your ability to find the right fit or retain employees. Incorporate personality tests in a manner that addresses these challenges.

One of the most important questions is when to introduce personality tests in the hiring process. Should you use them in the first round of the interview or last? The answer depends on your specific needs and the structure of your hiring process.

2. Use the Appropriate Personality Tests

What test should you use to find the perfect candidate? Determining the ideal personality test for identifying the right talent requires a comprehensive understanding of the different assessment tests available for recruitment purposes. While experts may hold varying opinions on the most suitable test, the choice ultimately rests on personal preference and what aligns best with your requirements.

Experimentation may be necessary to determine the most effective test for your needs.

Popular personality tests for hiring include:

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Enneagram
Five-Factor Model (FFM)
DiSC Assessment
Caliper Profile

Keep in mind, these tests reflect how happy a candidate would be considering the work environment.

3. Automate the Process

Before you even consider taking personality tests, it’s important to implement a digital hiring process. Manual integration of any assessment into your hiring process can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. By leveraging smart HR automation or talent management systems, you can seamlessly incorporate personality assessments into your existing framework.

Additionally, consider the option of administering tests online rather than through manual means. Manual processes take longer to gather and interpret results, whereas online assessments can save valuable time. By automating assessments and utilizing intelligent tools to interpret data, you can generate reliable reports with a single click.

When it comes to candidate assessment tests, leveraging AI-based HR technologies is highly recommended. These advanced recruitment assessment tools simplify the hiring process and enhance its efficiency. One example is Wiggli, a real-time SaaS HR platform that streamlines various aspects for recruiters, ranging from building talent pools to conducting personality tests.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, incorporating personality assessment tests into your hiring process can be a valuable addition, but they should not be the sole determining factor in hiring decisions. It is crucial to view them as one part of a comprehensive and well-rounded hiring strategy. Consider their integration alongside other valuable tools and methods to ensure the most effective selection of candidates.

Crafting Your Career Destiny

In the digital world where 38% of workers quit their job because of email fatigue, business leaders and managers hardly find time to think about employees' career development. Regardless of how caring your organization is, it’s important for you to figure out how to achieve your career goals and put yourself in a position for long-term growth. Managers hardly find time to think about employees' career development. Regardless of how caring your organization is, it’s important for you to figure out how to achieve your career goals and put yourself in a position for long-term growth.

To get what you want in your career, you must learn to identify your strengths, and weaknesses, and uncover blind spots. Remember, there are no shortcuts when it comes to achieving sustainable growth. Only perseverance and hard work will help you master the skills and experiences you need to thrive in the workplace.

First and foremost, you need to realize that you’re living in a do-it-yourself career development era. Organizations either don’t offer formal training or their training programs are not given due attention. It is probably because employees change jobs frequently. As a result, organizations hesitate to invest in people who are likely to leave.

Korn Ferry revealed that developing others is not at all on the priority list of managers.

However, there are companies that treat personal development as a major company initiative.

If you think you have skill gaps and blind spots that can make it hard for you to grow, it’s time to take some concrete actions and put your career on the right path.

In this post, we will explain how you can take control of your career. Let’s get started!

Define Your Success

If you want to achieve something in life, be sure to have a clear picture of your goals. In other words, define your job goals and success metrics. It’s best to write down your key performance indicators, and then consult with your manager or boss to see if they agree to your plan. It would be a good approach to involve your employer in your career development planning.

Fix Your Blind Spot

Successful people know the significance of solving their blind spots. You can’t master the art of getting what you want unless you learn how to learn and adjust. Your boss is probably the right person to help you identify your weaknesses or areas where you need to improve.

If your superiors aren’t proactive in giving regular feedback, be the first to start the conversation. Seek guidance after every meeting or presentation. Keep things simple: work on one area at a time. Listen to your peers and friends when they offer some advice.

Learn in a Systematic Way

It’s always a good idea to keep things organized. For example, when you seek feedback, keep a journal. Prepare a list of top competencies or skills that you want to develop. And then rate yourself on each of them with the help of your manager or career development coach.

Let’s explain this with an example. If you’re a marketer, you might give yourself an A in trade marketing, a B+ in advertising development, and a C in brand development. Now, you should be focusing on the Cs to close skill gaps. Experts in those fields can help you learn quickly and the right way. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to people who previously held your position.

Let Your Presence Be Felt

One of the best things you can do as an employee is to increase your visibility with the C-suit. In some workplace environments, employees find it hard to get noticed by seniors through their direct work. So, you should watch out for volunteering opportunities or other business initiatives where you can prove yourself.

So many workers overlook the importance of taking part in company events. Don’t be one of them. Let your seniors witness your ability to perform outside your traditional job role.

Adapt Quickly

Your company might need experts in areas of increasing importance. For example, your company may be introducing a new technology to streamline its various business operations. If you’re good at learning and implementing new technologies, you should come up and play your role and help your managers. If your company is facing an emerging issue, you can stand up and propose solutions. Your interest and willingness to solve your company’s problems will surely bring you promotions and other career opportunities.

Get Clear on Your Next Step

Visualizing your entire career path with clarity is only the first step. Whether you want to get that promotion you’ve been striving for or planning to start your own business, identify the pathway to get from where you’re right now and where you want to be. Here is a simple practice to do so: put yourself at least 5 years into the future and write down your resume as you envision it.

Get Help

It is a good idea to see things both from your perspective and others’ perspective. If you’re not confident in your career direction, seek mentoring. The perspective of an expert career development coach is invaluable. Therefore, try to find a mentor who could guide you and bring clarity to your vision.

If you know someone who has what it takes to provide objective guidance, reach out to them. Focus on building a good relationship rather than bombarding them with non-stop questions. Find opportunities to have quality discussions over coffee or at the company’s lobby. This is how you build relationships organically.

Final Thoughts

It might take you some time to learn the art of getting what you want in your career. Also, strong functional skills take time to develop. Besides, you’re likely to face plenty of resistance, both internal and external, to achieve what you want. All you have to do is stay committed to your goals and keep going.

Your skill set is your most precious career capital. So, take time to develop them. Lack of clarity or jumping from one job to another too quickly wouldn’t allow you to develop the functional expertise you need to have a remarkable career. You’re more likely to succeed in this DIY world if you take initiative and stick to your well-thought plan.

“The key to success is to start before you are ready.” - Marie Forleo

Reduce Hiring Costs While Recruiting

The recruitment process could consume a major part of your overall operational costs. While the need to reduce hiring costs in good times is an ongoing objective, it’s a necessity in tough times. Recruiting, however, occurs in both good and bad times.

The International Public Management Association for Human Resources revealed that about 3 0 % of businesses spend between $1,000 and $3,000 per hire. If you’re spending a lot on hiring new employees, it’s high time to take effective measures so that you improve your bottom line. You can dramatically reduce recruiting costs by employing innovative recruiting tactics and tools

Hiring great people becomes difficult when you have a limited recruiting budget and an old-fashioned recruitment process in place. This blog post will identify some of the most practical and straightforward ways to reduce your hiring costs and hire the right people for your business.

5 Smart Ways to Reduce Hiring Costs

Before you implement any recruiting strategy, make sure to examine your overall hiring process. Find out how much recruitment is costing your company. Consider both direct and indirect costs during the process. HR administration, turnover, job board fees, advertising, and processing costs are some of the direct requirement costs. Indirect costs include the time of internal staff, productivity, and opportunity costs.

No matter what strategy you’re using to attract new talent, make sure to consider these 5 ways to improve your hiring process:

Automate Your Recruiting Process

In most cases, in-house resources have to post a job description on more than 10 different platforms and scan through a massive stack of resumes. How much energy and time do you think your staff would be investing in performing these repetitive tasks that aren’t even part of their responsibilities?

Most small business owners go through the frustration of spending more time and money than they should on HR-related activities. From job posting to payroll, and HR management, entrepreneurs can spend a significant chunk of their day on these time-consuming tasks.

Automation is the only way to move forward because it can save a lot of your resources and keep your business ahead of the curve. For example, a robust applicant tracking system can remove the pain points in the entire hiring process from job posting and interviews to talent acquisition, which ultimately leads to reduced operational costs.

A recruiting automation system can help perform the following tasks with great ease and speed:

Applicant tracking
Candidate pre-screening
Access to pre-qualified talent
Expand your reach into the talent market
Candidate nurturing
Manage everything using a single platform

Avoid Costly Turnover

While automation gives you a competitive advantage, avoiding turnover can reduce your hiring expenses. Every business with workers experiences employee turnover. When an employee left your company, you have to allocate time and money to find a replacement and train them. That’s why you have to avoid costly turnover in order to reduce your recruiting costs.

Here are some cost-effective techniques to reduce high employee turnover:

Hire the right people in the first place
Offer competitive pay and benefits
Reward your employees when they deliver results
Give them a sense of purpose and direction
Allow flexible work schedules, if possible

Pro Tip: Use a digital recruitment approach to recruit pre-qualified employees to avoid turnovers.

Recruit Faster

It’s never been more difficult for HR managers to find the right employees: competition for talent is fiercer than ever before. To make your recruiting more cost-efficient, you not only have to find the right people but also expedite the overall process. Again, you can’t recruit faster unless you employ modern tools to streamline the hiring process.

As you scale from recruiting 5 people in a year to 5 people a week, efficient hiring processes can make a big difference. One of the ways to reduce your HR costs is to move faster throughout the process. To find bottlenecks in your process, analyze how long candidates spend in each step of the selection process.

Develop Talent Pool

Developing and maintaining a pipeline of qualified candidates will also help you reduce your cost-per-hire. It becomes easier for your team to fill in new positions quickly when you build a talent pool. On top of this, you don’t have to spend on advertisements.

Some companies hire a temporary replacement which contributes to a high cost per hire. Reduced time-to-fill will help you eliminate the need for finding temporary replacements. Besides, you wouldn’t have to waste the time of your team on a mass of unqualified candidates.

Here are some quick tips for building an effective talent pool:

Use an efficient sourcing tool
Take advantage of your current employees’ network to expand your pool
Build a strong social media presence to invite potential candidates
Encourage potential candidates to join your talent pool

Deploy the Right ATS

There are so many Applicant Tracking Systems that help companies streamline their recruiting process. However, you need to carefully scrutinize your needs before adding an HR system to your toolkits.

When you implement an ATS that is a good fit for your company, you will be able to cut several HR costs while enhancing your capabilities to connect with ideal candidates. Platforms like Wiggli come with a comprehensive recruiting tool that you can use to easily weed out under-qualified applicants, build an applicant database, communicate, schedule interviews, and automate various aspects of the hiring process.

Don’t let inefficient recruiting methods have a negative impact on your bottom line. Reach the right candidates quickly and cost-efficiently.

Final Thoughts on How to Reduce Hiring Costs

Your recruiting cost depends largely on the time your HR team spends on recruiting tasks. If your staff is using spreadsheets and email to track the hiring process, your recruiting costs are likely to be much higher. So, adopt smart recruiting tools to resolve most of your HR-related issues once and for all.

The Best Social Media Recruiting Strategies

Hiring the right talent for open positions is one of the most important aspects of running a company. Most recruiters post new opportunities on job board sites. However, the best employees don’t use these sites frequently, but they are most likely to check social media multiple times a day, especially if they are tech-savvy millennial talent.

In the Digital Age, operating a business comes with numerous challenges and opportunities. The rapidly evolving business environment is moving organizations away from traditional recruiting strategies, opening up new ways to make recruiting more efficient in terms of time and cost.

If you want to take your recruiting efforts to the next level, add innovation and flexibility to your overall strategy. While tools like Applicant Tracking System have become essential to HR teams, you need to think beyond conventional means of acquiring and managing talent.

An increasing number of businesses are now turning to social media to resolve their longstanding HR challenges. This guide will highlight the vitality of having a sound social recruiting strategy and how you can develop one to achieve your recruiting goals.

Is social media recruiting effective?

People use social media to accomplish a variety of objectives, ranging from brand awareness to sales and advertising. The question is how social media can help you improve your recruiting efforts.

Facebook and LinkedIn are two of the most powerful social platforms that offer unique features to make things easier for advertisers and recruiters. With over 1.62 billion daily users, Facebook surpasses Google in terms of site visits per day. As a business owner or recruiter, you can’t overlook the significance of social platforms like Facebook or Linkedin which have billions of users looking for all sorts of content from entertainment and product guides to job opportunities and news. Instagram is also a good platform if you want to add a fun element to your content.

Your company may already have a presence on social media, but you need to come up with a more comprehensive and well-thought-out social strategy that covers the HR aspect of your business.

As social usage continues to skyrocket, smart tactics can help you reach high-quality candidates faster and at a lower cost. Give yourself a competitive edge in finding and hiring the best candidate.

Before we move on to building a great social recruiting strategy, let’s take a look at some vital stats.

Social Meep reveals that 89% of recruiters have been hired through LinkedIn.
More than 90% of recruiters use or plan to use social media.
A study found that 73% of jobseekers between the ages of 18 and 34 found their last job on social media.
Companies that track their communication are 40% more likely to be best in class.

How to build a sound social media recruiting strategy

The following steps will help you devise an impeccable social recruiting strategy for your business.

1. Create a candidate persona

Social media is a crowded world. Businesses often struggle to navigate through the noise and reach the right audience. To produce great results, you need to define and speak to the right people. It may take a bit of effort and time to tailor your strategy to the right talent pool. So, firstly, you need to establish candidate personas for the positions you want to fill. This will help you speak directly to your ideal candidates.

There are several ways to research personas. For example, you can interview your current employees or conduct surveys to get insights into what makes a great employee at your organization. You can focus on your employees’ goals, interests, and pinpoints to draw a picture of your personas. You can also extract information from your ATS to build an even more accurate persona - Information such as employee performance, expectations, and skills required to be a successful employee at your company will be valuable.

2. Connect with passive candidates

Did you know 73% of candidates are passive jobseekers?

The talent shortage is one of the biggest obstacles for recruiters. Since competition for talent is fierce, identifying and connecting with the right candidates can be challenging. However, social media can make things easier. You can target a specific group of people on social sites using advanced targeting features to reach hard-to-reach people.

Starting a dialogue with potential candidates is an effective way to build relationships. When doing so, be real and say what you mean. Your potential candidates expect transparent and approachable communication no matter the platform. Hiding behind pseudonyms may lead to a trust deficit between you and your ideal candidates.

3. Take advantage of advanced search features

Social media networks like Facebook have made it easy for people to reach the right users with advanced targeting features. Regardless of which platform you want to focus on, be sure to understand your target demographics. Once you know who is engaging with your content, you can personalize your message and reach the right users at the right time.

4. Engage staff to promote your employer brand

The right social strategy focuses on maximizing reach and putting your brand in front of the right people. One way to implement a more targeted approach is to involve your current employees in the recruitment process. For instance, you can ask them to share a job posting on their social media profiles. This strategy can produce great results for your HR teams.

Don’t forget to set guidelines before engaging your staff in the recruiting process. For example, how often should your people share corporate news? Who and how many people will be involved in the process? A lack of pre-defined processes may negatively impact your brand.

5. Use hashtags

Little efforts like the use of the right hashtags can go a long way. But it would help if you used hashtags in a strategic way. Understand the reach of your hashtags or how many people are using them. Your hashtags should target your key audience. Using a particular hashtag consistently can help you ensure your content is seen by relevant audiences. Your audience will start associating those specific hashtags with your company when done right.

6. Measure your performance

Social recruiting is meaningless if you’re not testing or tracking your results. While networking with candidates in your industry is crucial, take time to determine how effective social recruiting is for your business. Recruiters and marketers can choose from a variety of analytics tools to track their performance on various social sites. If you want to win the war for talent, make sure to use insights and data as one of your prime tools.

Pro Tip: Use smart HR tools like Wiggli to streamline your recruiting process and gain valuable insights. The right mix of automation and social efforts can produce dramatic results.

7. Use social media to verify candidate information

Content posts of your potential candidates on social media can help you verify details that they mention on their resumes. The objective is not to discriminate candidates based on their religious views or social activities, but to find the right fit for your culture. Make your final recruiting decisions based on relevant assessments, tests, or skills.

Recruiters understand how some job applicants exaggerate their education or prior job experience to get an edge. So, it would be a good idea to use social media to verify applicant information.

8. Establish a brand image

The internet is an incredible place where impressions matter. As a business or employer brand, you can’t afford to have a bad online reputation. What people are talking about your company? How do your past employees express their experience working with your company? Who is promoting or defaming your brand? Answer these questions before you use social media to build a brand image.

Make sure to use social media networks to fix/improve your reputation. Continuously monitor what people say about your brand. Bad reviews from your past employees can seriously impact your reputation and ability to attract talent in the future. So, be sure to have control over how potential candidates perceive your organization.

Final thoughts

Social media has developed into a powerful tool for recruiters and HR teams around the globe. It allows you to reach a pool of potential candidates that don’t take a traditional route to find new opportunities.

If you want to uplevel your recruiting game, start working on relevant social channels. Use these tips and tactics to create a highly effective social recruiting strategy.

How to Avoid Most Common CV Mistakes

So, you’re looking to land your dream job. Understandably, it’s hard to get a job that meets all of your requirements and preferences. Isn’t it? Recruiters usually receive tons of applications when they post a job. They have to scan through a pile of CVs and resumes to shortlist candidates, and most are filled with CV mistakes.

Is your CV powerful enough to help you stand out from the crowd? If not, it’s high time to take a step back and work on the basics. For example, analyze your current CV and see if you’re making mistakes that are stopping you from getting a good job.

In this blog, I’ll identify some of the common CV mistakes and how you can avoid them to make a good first impression on recruiters. But before we dig deep, let’s quickly define what is a CV and how it is different from a resume.

What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)?

A CV is a long document that you use to showcase your academic and professional achievements. Your recruiter should be able to find all the information they need to verify your skills, job experience, or qualification. While a resume is a short one-page document that highlights key facts, a CV is a more detailed document that presents the whole course of your career.

8 Common CV Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

1. Spelling & Grammar Mistakes

Let me start with the basic ones. It’s pretty obvious that submitting a CV with grammar or spelling issues showcases that you don’t pay attention to small details. So, before sending your CV to a recruiter, be sure to double-check everything.

A survey of 379 recruiters revealed that CVs with typos and grammatical errors were an instant deal-breaker for a staggering 79% of respondents.

2. Exaggeration is a CV Mistake

Sometimes it feels like a good idea to boost your academic grades or exaggerate the truth just to impress potential employers. Here is the deal: don’t lie or exaggerate facts on your CV. It could cost you the job. The best strategy is to be who you are and be honest about your skills and experience.

3. Poor CV format

Most candidates use a chronological CV format. However, it’s not always the right choice. You should select a CV format based on your situation. For example, if you have employment gaps, a skill-based format will be a good choice.

When people submit their CVs, the first thing recruiters see is the CV format. So, be consistent throughout the CV. Font changes halfway or typos can reflect badly on you.

Here is another tip: try to make your CV scannable, professional, and clean. For example, use suitable fonts like Calibri or Arial that are supported by most word-processing software.

4. Generic Language

Do you think it’s a good idea to have a CV full of cliches? Your objective should be to stand out. This goal can’t be achieved when candidates use CV cliches and buzzwords. Recruiters don’t find any attraction in those vague, unimaginable phrases that show no real value. They have probably read those generic phrases thousands of times. So, try to avoid them. Instead, use simple language without stuffing your CV with heavy words.

5. Use of Old-fashioned ‘Objective Statement’

We often see an objective statement in CVs. However, you need to pay attention to outdated CV writing practices. Objective statements don’t help recruiters because candidates don’t write original statements. Here is an example of a generic statement: “A passionate individual with 5 years of experience in digital marketing seeking full-time employment with a reputable employer.”

Hey, your CV is all about you. Therefore, focus on how your skills can help employers achieve their business goals. The right way is to write a summary explaining how your experience has helped your previous employers. For example, if you’re a digital marketer, write in your CV summary how much revenue you have generated for your clients.

6. Not Taking Time to Customize CV for a Job

How much time will it take to customize your CV to make it more relevant to the job you’re applying for? We’re not sure about the time you need to update your CV, but one thing is for sure: you have to show the recruiter that you have the skills and experience you need to step into the job and succeed.

Your CV might get rejected by the applicant tracking system (ATS) if you haven’t mentioned the required skills and qualifications in your CV. Bots are quick when it comes to candidate screening. So, make sure your CV passes through the ATS. Besides, you can afford to use a generic CV when it comes to signing up on a database or when attending a job fair.

An increasing number of organizations use ATS to automate their recruiting processes. So, take into account how applicant tracking systems work and how to use relevant keywords to increase your chances of getting shortlisted. Spell out all the abbreviations and acronyms in your CV. This also makes things easier for human readers.

7. Including Past or Current Earnings

It’s not a good idea to mention anything about your past or current income or salary expectations unless the job advertisement requests you to do so. Leave that part to the interview or negotiation stage. That’s where you should openly talk about your salary expectations.

8. Writing in the Third Person

It is another common CV mistake when people write their CVs in the third person. Since you want to minimize the distance between you and your recruiter, write in the first person as if you’re talking directly to the recruiter. Try to drop personal pronouns wherever possible.

Final Thoughts on CV Mistakes

So, are you ready to create a memorable CV for your job-hunting campaign? Remember, your CV is your first chance to stay ahead of the competition. Let your recruiters know that you’re serious about the job you’re applying for. Employers receive hundreds, if not thousands, of job applications every day. A great CV can put you at the top of shortlisted candidates.

The Significance of Networking for Students

Networking plays a crucial role in a student's journey, yet it is often overlooked within the confines of traditional university education. While students gain valuable knowledge in their classes, they may miss out on the essential skill of networking. Developing a professional network involves engaging with industry professionals, including experts, CEOs, and professors. By establishing meaningful connections early on, students can lay the foundation for a successful career search in the future.

While academic knowledge is undoubtedly important, its true value lies in the ability to share that knowledge with others. Networking as a student is about who you know, rather than just what you know.

Why is Networking Important?

Networking allows individuals to connect with the right people in the right places. Leveraging professional networking tools offers numerous benefits for both professional and social growth.

1. Building Industry Connections

Building relationships and connections within your industry provides a valuable support system and increases the likelihood of achieving your goals. By offering assistance to others in your network, you cultivate mutually beneficial relationships.

2. Advice, Guidance, and Progress

Professionals who have already walked the career path you aspire to, are the best mentors. Their guidance can help you navigate challenges and seize new opportunities, accelerating your career growth.

3. Discovering New Opportunities

Expanding your network exposes you to fresh job opportunities, particularly when you are embarking on your post-graduation job search. However, networking goes beyond securing your first job; it can lead to unexpected career advancements throughout your professional journey.

How to Start Building a Strong Professional Network as a Student

Building a robust professional network requires effort, especially when starting from scratch as a student. The goal is to establish and nurture strong relationships with individuals in your industry. To kickstart your networking efforts, consider the following steps:

1. Establish an Online Presence

Your online presence in the age of technology is your bread and butter. Maintaining an active presence on social media platforms, including professional networks like LinkedIn, increases your visibility within your industry.

Be mindful of how you present yourself online. A positive image that aligns with professional expectations, can help you build great connections, as well as attract potential recruiters.

2. Engage and Re-engage

Networking is not a one-time interaction; it requires continuous engagement. Adding someone to your friend list on an online platform isn't enough. Regularly connect with professionals in your network, share insights, tips, and experiences, and seek advice when needed. Fostering trust and reliability is key to successful networking.

However, don’t go overboard sending too many messages, and don't let the connection fade out either.

3. Leverage Shared Interests and Networking Opportunities

Participate in affinity groups and communities that align with your interests. These groups offer a starting point for building connections and expanding your network beyond your immediate academic and professional circles.

Additionally, take advantage of networking events organized by companies. They are often advertised on their social media pages and can provide valuable career advancement prospects.

4. Use University Networking Resources

Make use of the resources available at your university's career center. These centers offer guidance, help you improve your CV, and provide information about internships and job fairs. Take advantage of their connections and expertise to enhance your networking efforts.

Build your Network for Future Success

Networking is a gateway to career opportunities, particularly for students preparing to enter the job market. Establishing connections that can support your professional growth is paramount. Remember that networking not only opens doors to new job prospects but also helps you develop and refine your professional skills. By actively engaging in networking, you position yourself as a valuable contributor in your chosen field.

10 Recruiting Tips for Hard-To-Fill Roles

We no longer live in an era where finding talent is easy. The days of posting a job, sifting through the applications, and making a quick hiring decision are long gone. Today, you can't just hope to hire the best talent. You get to work for it. And work hard. That's why we've got your back with some recruiting tips.

With the changing dynamics in the recruitment industry, the time to level up your recruitment plan is now. After all, recruiting employees is no cinch. In an era where everyone wants to hire the right candidates for their jobs, the competition in the HR world is fiercer than ever. When the going is already tough, how to find the perfect fit for some of the most challenging positions out there?

In this article, we will share some useful tips to find the ideal candidate for hard-to-fill positions. But first, let's understand why are some roles tough to fill as compared to others.

Why are Some Roles Hard to Fill?

If you're serious about finding the right talent for your job, chances are you are keen to learn what makes a position difficult to fill. We can help you scratch the surface with some recruiting tips and insights sourced from the top industry research reports.

Here are some common reasons why certain roles are difficult to fill:

Shortage of candidates based on the skills, qualifications, or talent required for the job
Undesirable job location
Recent corporate restructuring or negative reputation
Company culture doesn't seem too promising to the applicants
Weak employer branding
Below market average compensation/benefits linked to the job
A too-short or too-lengthy job description that fails to interest applicants

While the reasons why a job can get hard to fill may be many, you can always turn the tables. All you need is the right knowledge. Read on to find out how you can hire top talent for the most difficult roles to fill.

10 Recruiting Tips for Hard-To-Fill Roles

Today's world offers an endless supply of talent, yet many HR professionals are still struggling to take advantage of that talent. It's time to think beyond the standard recruitment practices and start using the following recruiting tips to attract talent for hard-to-fill roles.

Here's what you can do to turn your recruitment challenges into opportunities:

Find Loopholes To Eliminate Friction

At times your existing hiring process needs a careful review to find loopholes that may make hiring difficult for some roles. It could be a longer-than-usual waiting in between interview rounds. Or lack of the right information for the candidates. Collectively, these small loopholes make the job hiring a lot less smooth than it should be. So, steamroll hiring bottlenecks and expedite your recruitment process by giving it a major overhaul.

Create A Strategy

Once you have eliminated friction from your existing recruitment process, it's time for a revival. Create a strategic recruitment plan that focuses on your hiring goals. From the right job-posting platforms and active talent pipelines to the tools that make recruitment faster and more straightforward, there are several things you need to consider while finalizing a recruitment strategy.

Build Your Social Media Presence

Armed with social media, organizations can hire people best suited for tough jobs. For example, by having a presence on platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, and staying relevant with interesting job promotions on all these channels, you can attract and network with prospective candidates. Highlight your company's strengths on all these platforms and keep track of the key metrics that tell what works and what doesn't to improve candidate engagement

Need some inspiration to build your social media presence? What Accenture does here is solid gold.

Check Accenture’s different social media profiles to find out why it’s the perfect example of impressive employer branding.

Focus On The Job Description

A job description is one of the most critical elements of a successful recruitment process. To ensure that potential candidates don't scroll past your job content, consider these recruiting tips in your description:

Make it compelling
Work with the hiring manager to understand the job's critical requirements, the experience, qualifications needed, and the benefits offered
Use positive language in the description
Show the prospective candidates why your company is the employer of choice by including links to your social media pages

Lean Into Employee Referrals

Give your hiring process a positive push with employee referrals. By requesting your employees for candidate recommendations, you get an additional (and much-needed) tool to recruit for hard-to-fill roles. Thus, make employee referral campaigns a part of your recruitment strategy and nurture your connection with your employees.

By making your employees your hiring buddies, you can quickly scale up your teams and bring in more qualified leads for potential employees. And it's a cost-saving tool too. Imagine not having to pay external recruiters to find the right fit for a job! Wonderful, isn’t it?

Elevate Your Employer Brand

Employees today need more than fat paychecks and lavish perks. They seek a culture that aligns with their values, lifestyles, and long-term goals. And as a brand, you ought to give it to them.

Create a positive employer brand with growth and development opportunities, excellent online presence, social responsibility, and sustainability initiatives, and you are sure to attract candidates for those otherwise hard-to-fill roles.

That's because when you work towards standing out in the recruitment landscape, you deliver impressions that you care for your existing and future workforce. And that, there, is a lead magnet for top talent.

Also, don't forget the importance of positive communication throughout the recruitment process. Each interaction that you make with a candidate should leave them with a positive outlook toward your brand, no matter the hiring decision.

Remember, candidates these days have the power of social media to bring any negative aspect of your organization into focus. And that's the last thing you would want while building a strong employer image to hire for hard-to-fill positions.

See how leading customer data platform Segment has built a strong employer brand with content that shows why it is a great place to work.

Leverage Internal Mobility

Sometimes when hiring goes awry, it's time to pump the brakes and stop wandering. You may need to look within the organization to find what you have been searching in the outside world.

When you take the internal hiring route, you find resources that are already well-acquainted with your corporate culture and the way your business works.

Training and upskilling existing employees and preparing them to step up the ladder by taking up hard-to-fill roles is an efficient cornerstone for talent succession as well.

Go For Interim Staffing

If internal hiring isn't working for you and finding the right candidate through external recruitment practices seems like a far cry, try interim staffing. One of the best reasons to go for temporary staffing is that it keeps the work going on till you find the ideal permanent employee for the role. It's also a fantastic tactic to test the waters and judge a candidate's caliber before making them permanent.

Hiring a skilled interim employee is also an excellent decision when it comes to training new or existing employees so that they can take up that hard-to-fill role with greater confidence, knowledge, and skills.

Extend Your Talent Circles

Every company wants to win the war for talent. But only a few care to move beyond the traditional recruitment channels and extend their talent circles to achieve that goal.

Build a constant pipeline of talent by exploring networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Dig into web groups, forums, and related sources to find talent.

Also, consider recruiting fresh talent to make the most of their out of box thinking and new ways of handling tough jobs.

Analyse, Tweak, and Persist

While strategic thinking and branding can help your brand draw talent for hard-to-fill jobs, there's no substitute for continuous improvement. Monitor your process regularly to find bottlenecks and modify your strategy as per the changing scenarios.

As Lawrence Bossidy said, "Nothing we do is more important than hiring and developing people. At the end of the day, you bet on people, not on strategies."

Examine the changes needed, make them, and keep at it. It's the roadmap to setting benchmarks with realistic compensations and perks. And that’s what will take you toward the employees you need for hard-to-fill roles.

Build Your Talent Team Like a Pro

The takeaway from all these recruiting tips? HR people need to go the extra mile to recruit for those hard-to-fill roles. After all, these are hard-to-fill jobs! So, you need to do more than you usually do to achieve hiring success with them.

Dive deeper into your processes to create a winning recruitment strategy for filling the most challenging jobs. Think creatively. Network more. Focus on building a brand. And leverage industry insights to hire like a pro.

Feel free to reach out to Wiggli for an aide that can help you through the hiring process from start to finish and set yourself up for recruitment success.

Happy hiring!

Job Ads: The Art Of Writing Job Descriptions

Hiring the right individuals for in-demand positions is always a challenge. As entrepreneurs and recruiters, finding and attracting smart talent is crucial for running a successful business. Your job ads serve as the candidates' first impression of your company, making it essential to craft an engaging and effective job description.

To effectively face the talent shortage head-on, you need to optimize your online hiring processes and start using talent management tools to make your recruiting life easier. A robust HR tool will not only help you write spot-on recruitment ads but also streamline the entire recruiting process. In this post, we’ll explain how you can write killer recruitment ads while avoiding common mistakes.

Best Practices for Writing Job Ads

Many companies miss out on potential talent due to inefficient hiring processes and poorly crafted job descriptions. Don't fall into this trap; optimize your job posts using the following best practices to attract highly skilled individuals.

Infuse a human touch into your ads

There's a significant difference between a generic job post and one that genuinely appeals to the right candidates. Robotic job descriptions repel talent, while well-crafted ones provide compelling reasons for job seekers to take an interest.

To write compelling recruitment ads, start by infusing a human voice into your writing. Unsure how to do this? The five essential components of a human-voiced job ad include a captivating hook, role description, salary range and benefits, logical progression, and a path to learn more.

Marketing your job is akin to marketing your products or services. Starting with a laundry list of requirements won't attract many applicants. Begin with a hook that gives readers a reason to keep reading.

Understand your target candidates

Successful brands deeply understand their audience before marketing their products or services. As an HR manager or business leader, it's crucial to understand the type of individuals who would be the right fit for your company.

Consider your current satisfied employees who have been with you for years. They provide a picture of your ideal candidates. The more you know about your audience, the better you can create compelling job ads.

Optimize job ad titles with keywords

When job seekers search for positions online, they use specific keywords or job titles. Your task is to learn which titles or keywords potential candidates are using in their job searches. Some recruiters strive for uniqueness by creating creative job titles, but this approach may not be beneficial for SEO.

Optimizing job titles with appropriate keywords is essential for the SEO of your recruitment ads. For example, naming your content marketer position as "attention ninja" or "attention grabber" may not be effective. Instead, use adjectives to optimize the job title, making it concise and search-friendly. For instance, a mid-level content marketer position in a B2B company could be titled "B2B Content Marketing Specialist," which attracts mid-level and senior professionals.

Start with a company summary

The first paragraph of your recruitment ad should provide readers with the necessary context for the job. However, this paragraph should not be a reiteration of your "about us" page. Candidates are interested in understanding who you are as a team and how the position aligns with your company vision.

Describe what sets your company apart and offer a brief introduction to your employer brand. Research by Indeed reveals that 72% of job seekers want to see details about company culture in recruitment ads.

Maintain honesty and transparency

Your job ad should not read like an exaggeration or make empty promises regarding wages. Such approaches will not help you attract and retain talented individuals. Conversely, It's crucial to represent your company honestly and provide a clear, transparent summary of the job.

Tips for Writing Effective Job Ads

In addition to the best practices mentioned earlier, here are some valuable tips to help you write compelling and converting job postings:

Keep your post simple and original: avoid overloading it with excessive details.
Clearly differentiate between necessary skills and desired skills.
Seek feedback from your current employees before publishing the post to ensure accuracy and relevance.
Use inclusive language to broaden your candidate pool.
Maintain a consistent writing voice that aligns with your company's personality and culture.
Make your job posts employee-focused, highlighting the benefits and opportunities.
Create excitement about the job interview to engage potential candidates.
Remember to describe the perks and benefits associated with the position.
Ensure that your job requirements are realistic and clearly stated.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Job Ads

While we've discussed best practices, it's important to be aware of common pitfalls that many recruiters fall into. Avoid the following bad habits when creating job ads:

Using nondescript job titles that hinder searchability.
Copying and pasting generic job descriptions from the internet.
Concluding with a weak closing statement that fails to inspire action.
Employing vague and meaningless buzzwords that do not add value.
Creating one-sided job descriptions that focus solely on company needs without considering the candidate's perspective.

By steering clear of these common mistakes, you can create highly effective recruitment ads that attract the right talent.

In Conclusion

Finding exceptional talent is a challenge, but an exceptional recruitment ad can greatly enhance your chances of connecting with the right individuals. Craft well-written job ads and postings to make a positive first impression. Embrace smart talent management solutions to automate HR processes, freeing up more time to focus on what truly matters. By employing these strategies, you'll be on your way to attracting and hiring top-tier candidates.

7 Things a Successful Manager Does

You might be asking yourself this question every day: “Am I a good manager”? What does it take to be a successful Manager? Do I have what it takes to act like a leader while managing my people? If you’re a manager or want to become a manager, you probably ask yourself some of these questions. Aren’t you?

As a manager, your career growth largely depends on your ability to manage employees and evaluate their performance. Nonetheless, if a manager can do their job satisfactorily, it doesn’t mean they’re management experts.

So, what can you do differently to grow as a manager? To answer this, we decided to come up with this post that will explain 7 important things you need to do or practice in order to become great at managing people. Before we identify those things, let’s take a quick look at the basic attributes of a good manager:

What is a Successful Manager

With the rise of remote work, the role of managers has changed drastically over the last couple of years. However, there are certain fundamental qualities that a manager must have in order to be successful. Here are some of the must-have qualities or skills of a good manager:

Being transparent in their conduct
The drive to set goals
Excellent communication
Effective delegation
Empathy and sensitivity
Ability to support collaboration at every level
Ability to mitigate toxic behavior
Consistent performance

But you can certainly think beyond these qualities and try to embrace an out-of-the-box management approach. While basic management skills are imperative, let’s see what else you can do to be a great manager.

7 Key Things a Successful Manager Does Differently

If you’re looking to hire a good manager, you should consider the following elements and practices to spot a great manager.

1. Stands Up for What’s Right

Not every manager has the guts to stand up for what is right. How many managers or leaders do you believe make personal sacrifices to do the right thing even if that harms their own personal interests?

People often hesitate to do the right thing because they think their job will be at stake. If you want to stand out as a manager and truly inspire your team, learn how to take a stand and never compromise your values. Do the right thing always even if it has the potential to jeopardize your career.

2. A Successful Manager Uplifts People

Great managers don’t hesitate to invest their time and energy to uplift their teams. For this, they put effort into understanding their employees, giving feedback, setting clear expectations, and having their team members’ backs.

3. Gives Employees the Space They Need

People who feel free to make their own decisions at work are more productive and happier. As a manager, you might want your employees to get things done the way you want them to.

However, good managers empower their teams to make their own decisions, especially when they work with individual contributors. If you want to do things differently and efficiently, step away from the individualistic mindset and let your people make small decisions.

4. Connects with Employees

Here is another important thing managers do to build stronger teams: connecting with their employees to a certain extent. You should be working towards knowing your employees’ goals, ambitions, and skills, and then help them mitigate their difficulties. Here are some techniques to connect with your employees:

Let your employees speak and feel valued
Help them with their day-to-day tasks
Let your employees do new things
Lead by example
Embrace random connections

5. A Successful Manager Coaches to Engage

A manager with coaching skills asks questions instead of providing answers. Instead of judging employees, they support them and facilitate their development. Since organizations are moving away from command-and-control practices, managers have to take a genuine interest in their people. Great business leaders often use their coaching skills to accelerate business growth.

6. Reflects on Behavior

Good leaders reflect on their behavior and hold themselves accountable. Business management is not about showing up in the office and going about your business tasks. You have to practice self-reflection and see your workers with feelings and thoughts. Therefore, evaluate your behavior to find out why you’re acting in a certain way.

7. A Succesful Manager is a Leader Not a Boss

Lastly, we will discuss the most important thing successful managers do differently: manage people like a leader instead of a boss. People no longer want to work with bosses: they want to work with leaders and influencers. Remember, 75% of employees leaving their jobs don’t quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. So, think of yourself as a leader instead of a boss.

Final Thoughts

For employers, finding a great manager is like finding a needle in a haystack. This is probably the reason why Gallup found out that 82% of the time businesses fail to hire the right candidate for a managerial position. So, try to be the manager every company is looking for. Learn how to do things differently and inspire employees.

Management is about persuading people to do things they do not want to do, while leadership is about inspiring people to do things they never thought they could. --Steve Jobs