BCjobs Blog

Barely 2 weeks old and the buzz of Google+ has already taken over technology blogs, business sites, and my personal Facebook feed (invites anyone?). According to a recent article in PC World, estimates for the social network’s user base run as high as 5 million (not quite the 200 million of Twitter or 750 million of Facebook, but it’s only been 14 days). I recently received my own invitation and can’t stop reading anything and everything about the new social site. Like its social networking cousins, Google+ has the potential to further revolutionize business – from new marketing and advertising techniques to personalized and quick customer service responses. But what effect will Google+ have on the recruiting world?

My kids have always summed up my career in this fashion: “People pay mommy lots of money to find other people”. They have never questioned the logic of this. Mommy plays a mean hide n seek. Now that my baby has graduated from Kindergarten, I have come to realize that really, some of the most important elements of recruiting he has now mastered. Since school let out I’ve been watching him interact with his friends – and here’s what I’ve found…

Many managers view hiring as one of the easier decisions they have to make. Problem is, it’s also one of the hardest decisions to unmake!
Here’s a common scenario for busy managers. A vacancy is posted on the web. Some promising, skilled candidates apply–you interview, conduct a reference or two, make an offer and you’re done.

It’s a fundamental law in recruiting that you “are limited to hiring individuals who have applied for a position” (even direct sourced candidates will at some time will be requested to acknowledge application). Assuming you want an applicant pool that is bulging with superior talent, a logical question would be, ‘What factors restrict qualified individuals from applying?’. Prior to the most recent global economic meltdown, most recruiting professionals guessed that the top factors were pay, benefits, and employer reputation, which are important, but one factor has always trumped them: geography.

How to attract the players when the game itself has changed?
AART – Accessibility, Authenticity, Relevancy and Trust. These are the traits that your company must exhibit to attract and recruit Generation Y (born between ~1979-1999), according to Lauren Friese from www.talentegg.ca in a recent webinar. A member of the ‘where you want it, when you want it’ generation herself, Lauren has some excellent assertions which I think really embody this demographic.

The Canadian government has decided that it is time for temporary foreign workers to make their decisions about remaining in Canada more quickly. With the implementation of the new regulations effective on April 1, 2011, foreign workers will only be allowed a maximum four year work permit period at a time. At the end of each period, these individuals are required to return back to their home country for another four years before being eligible to apply for another Canadian work permit. There will be no reprieve for individuals on a work permit awaiting their permanent resident status approval. Even if they are pending the issuance of their landing status, foreign nationals will be required to return home to await final PR approval.

I watched another webinar today that addressed social media and how it can be leveraged for HR and recruitment professionals. It was great to see company branding and marketing as part of the recruitment process as it is increasingly becoming an essential part of a company’s talent acquisition strategy.

I was listening to a discussion the other day about reference checks and heard someone ask the question, “What can an employer say”?
I have been in human resources for many years and held management and supervisory positions prior to that – so I’ve been asked to supply references for years. There is no doubt that reference checks are not given as freely as they once were because of lawsuits that have challenged previous employers because of things said or not said about an employee. The thing is: reference checks help employers make good hires.