As Seen in the May Issue of HR.com’s Talent Acquisition Essentials Publication
The state of the economy and employment continues to dominate the media, just as it has since 2007 when the decline began. However, from where I stand within the HR & recruitment space, I can’t help but believe that the story that is being covered is not an entirely accurate depiction. I will certainly not deny the unnerving statistics related to joblessness or the daily struggles of families trying to keep their homes and food on the table. But there are very significant silver linings!
Here’s some background on my uniquely informed vantage point… I work for a technology company that takes the standard text job post and converts it into 60-second VIDEOJOBS™. It’s no secret that, in order to remain competitive, nearly every company website nowadays contains video as part of their marketing strategy. Well my company offers that same competitive advantage when it comes to recruitment strategy. Video allows organizations to drive better engagement, track candidate response rates, and it even integrates into existing software (i.e. your ATS!).
We work with a variety of organizations, and we often attract clients who are not having success with traditional recruitment methods. Of course, this does not account for all of our clients, but it is certainly safe to say that I see a much higher-than-average percentage of hard-to-fill positions. And often the companies, many of which are Fortune 1000 employers, are indeed hiring in droves! Seeing with my own eyes how many companies are actually struggling to fill positions not only paints a very different picture of employment than what is portrayed in the media but also tells me that the problem is not so much that there are not enough jobs but rather that there is a problem connecting jobs and job seekers.
So what, then, is at the root of the disconnect?
Many tough-to-fill jobs require very specific candidates, whether it’s a rare combination of skills, an unusual or remote location, or a combination of both. When it comes to standard job search methods, such as job boards and career sites, these unique/specialty positions ultimately end up getting lost in a sea of competitors that are a better match to the industry norm. Therefore, in order for these openings to get face time in front of their target candidates, recruiters must stray from familiar territory and rely almost entirely on social media.
The key to leveraging social media for recruitment can be summed up in one word—shareability. In other words, in order for your job opening to spread, it must be 1) easy to share (requiring only a click or two to share or view) and 2) engaging (so people will want to view it and share it).
By employing these two facets of shareability—in the case of my company, using short, engaging VIDEOJOBS™ with share buttons—we have seen success time and time again with difficult-to-fill positions spanning all levels and industries, from engineers to truck drivers to customer service reps to warehouse workers. Again, these are positions that recruiters and employers have already spent a substantial amount of time trying to fill, yet once we come in with our shareable technology, these same jobs get anywhere from 200-900 views in a single month and hires happening in as little as a few days.
The bottom line is, from where I stand, economic growth is already happening all around us. There is simply a lag time between the creation of jobs and the filling of those jobs, a gap that will close very quickly when recruitment methods catch up with the times and employ shareable recruitment tools that are better at connecting niche jobs and job seekers.
About the Author
Lindsay Stanton, Chief Client Officer of Digi-Me
In her leadership role at Digi-Me (a JSTN company), Lindsay introduces companies to the most unique and innovative recruiting tools and emphasizes the power of video to add new dimension to recruitment and branding. She has facilitated relationships with 19 partners, including the largest recruitment advertising agencies, global recruitment process outsourcers, and staffing firms. She has been a featured speaker at SHRM and a leader in the recruitment space through ERE, Tru Events, and HRO Today.
Lindsay possesses a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Her previous work experience includes Economic Development for a large Chicago municipality and sales and marketing for Fortune 500 accounts.
For more information on Digi-Me recruitment video solutions, go to digi-me.com or contact sales@myjstn.com.
