Tag Archives: hiring

By Hank Stringer

I get calls from friends with children graduating from college who ‘need some help’ finding internships or permanent employment. Two of the recent students I have helped are interesting to me because of the assistance they receive from their university’s career placement, as well as the contacts from companies that have been coming their way.

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It is interesting to me because reviewing the backgrounds of the two students would lead one to believe these two would have ‘no problem’ finding the right employer, really one would think employers should be doing all they can to pursue them, but they aren’t. I have a couple of ideas as to why the situation is what it is and more importantly, have suggestions for students looking for internships or work aligned with career desires.

One of the students I am working with is a merit scholar at a university in the southwest and is studying to graduate with degrees in economics, philosophy and Latin American Studies. The other will graduate from a top engineering school in the southwest with a degree in aeronautical engineering and has a high GPA.

So these descriptions beg a couple of questions:

1. What do students do to find the right opportunity?
2. Why are HR organizations for companies not aware of these students?

Let’s take these one at a time and we will get to suggestions, so bear with me.

What it appears students do to find work…

The answer to the first is what most people looking for work do – they review websites for job/opportunity postings and submit their resume, and then what happens? Nothing – crickets chirp louder and why? Easy, companies don’t have the resources to manage inquiries and few executives understand the need and upside for making investments in talent acquisition through great relationship management. In the late 90’s, because of the Internet the future was described as one where companies would seek out and value talent relationships ahead of need…that HR would become strategic versus reactive and all in the world would be wonderful. Based on the discussions I’ve had with these students and others, we missed and we missed badly. Not only are students not finding work easily, they hear a negative outlook on the future of work, at a time when the reality is we have positions to fill in this country and companies complain the right talent is not available. For smart people, we are not solving this problem very effectively.

Why don’t companies build relationships with talent ahead of demand?

Resources are at a premium and few companies understand the value of searching out talent ahead of need and establishing a relationship of value. In the descriptions here every company that does business in Latin America should know every merit scholar studying Latin American studies and Economics at major universities in the US and around the world. They should have already established a relationship and begun a nurturing process for future need. There are not that many and it is not that difficult. Same can be said for the Aeronautic Engineering major but rather than reach out it appears companies and students sit back, use the Internet and wait.

Students and companies alike must think about standing out in the market by doing things differently than everyone else:

Network to establish personal relationships
Students – look to Glassdoor to understand how employees think of their employer
Companies – look to Glassdoor to see how employees think of you
For both – be different by thinking and acting strategic in your search for work or talent

We as students, employees and companies must do a better job of career relationship, transition and transaction. It is past time to get this right.

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Guest Blogger Hank Stringer is a member of the Glassdoor.com, Clearview Collection and CEO of Stringer Executive Search and Chief Strategist to Novotus – a professional recruiting agency. In 2006 he co-authored Talent Force:  A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business. (Prentice-Hall. 2006) with fellow Clearview contributor Rusty Rueff. Hank’s experience includes founding Hire.com, an early Internet recruitment solution acquired by Authoria in 2005. He has also served as a senior recruiter for Dell Inc. and Tandem Computers.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Meghan M. Biro

5  Trends for A New Year

I’ve talked before about personality-culture fit on Glassdoor,  and it hit a nerve with the community. Now that 2012 is here and hints of economic recovery are in the air, I’d like to look at five culture ‘musts’ organizations should adopt to attract job seekers as the market slowly improves.

It’s been difficult for organizations  to focus on culture fit with uncertain markets, wary consumers and business customers unwilling to make investments in new technologies or products. For job seekers it’s also been a challenge to put culture fit at the top of the list when just getting past a phone screen was near impossible.

But 2012 is supposed to be the year when the economy comes back, at least to 8 or 8.5 percent unemployment. Some of the money companies had on the sidelines is moving into play in the form of hiring, improvements to infrastructure to support employee productivity, and most importantly, refocusing efforts to improve upon or repair tarnished corporate cultures.

For organizations, it makes sense to start rebuilding a compelling company culture by looking at five key attributes of culture, which go way beyond a mission statement:

1. Culture is more than the personality of the workplace and its brand; it’s about the collective experience of working in that organization. Is your organization positive overall? If not, you have work to do.

1. Is your culture differentiated from the competitors’? Time to do that or face dropping sales and stepped-up employee attrition.

1. Do you use culture to attract and recruit talent? If the answer is no, it’s time for culture repair.

1. Are company values clear to all employee groups? If not, you won’t have alignment between line employees and strategic managers.

1. Are employees compensated fairly and competitively? Include health and other benefits in this review; compensation and benefits reveal how well a company treats its employees, one of the keystones of culture.

Because a company’s culture attracts and recruits and retains talent, which is differentiating, assessing your culture early in the year will not only help you learn why employees stay, but also what job seekers are looking for as they plan their next career move.

If you’re a job seeker, look for these five culture red flags – it’s a quick way to sort the great companies from the good or merely adequate:

• Does the company have a mission statement? Does it include reference to strategic vision, the role of the company in the broader market, and how the company views and treats employees?
• Does the company have programs which prove they value their employees? From employee of the month awards to bonuses and recognition on social media channels, demonstrating respect for the role employees play in the success of a company is an indicator of a positive culture.
• Does the company have high turnover? Check on Glassdoor, LinkedIn and other social media sites to learn what others think. If possible find out average tenure.
• Do your values match those of the company?  This one can be answered by researching online and talking with several employees.
• Does the company invest in growth - both employee and productivity? How long has it been since the website was updated? Look on the Wayback Machine for changes. Chat with employees via social sites and ask how the company invests in their growth and success.

I hope 2012 sees resurgence in companies investing in corporate culture. In my view, it will be the differentiating factor in retention and hiring in the New Year.

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Meghan M. Biro, founder of TalentCulture, is a serial entrepreneur and globally recognized career expert in talent acquisition and creative personal and corporate branding. Meghan has conducted more than 300 successful career searches for clients ranging from Fortune 500s to the most innovative software start-up companies. Meghan is also a new media strategist who enjoys accelerating collaborative business and community goals. When not recruiting, blogging, and innovating, she manages a dynamic coaching practice to empower corporate leaders, mid-level managers, software technologists, and recent college graduates. Meghan is a member of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS), The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and several entrepreneurial organizations. She serves on the Alumni Council for Greens Farms Academy, acting as a career mentor to high school and college students. Founder and co-host of “#TChat, The World of Work,” a long-running, weekly Twitter chat and radio show, Meghan’s ideas have appeared on Forbes, CBS Moneywatch and she blogs regularly at Monster, The 12 Most, Ragan’s HR Communication and several additional online destinations of note.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.

By Hank Stringer

Want A Job? Learn How To Work First

Had lunch with a frustrated exec this week I’ve known for years. He has hired new college grads for years, has seen the process through the past three decades and is concerned that today’s grads don’t know how to work.

I frowned at such a broad blanket statement and he agreed that it’s not true of every new grad, but that overall he has seen a shift, a decline in the willingness to roll up the sleeves and work. Interestingly, he blames me, or at least my generation of Baby Boomers, the MeGen that spent the last 30 years pursuing the easiest paths to success. And for better or worse, we succeeded.

We had a good time and thought we were doing right by pursuing success through a ‘whatever it takes’ approach, but the outcome is not so good for our current economic situation and worse for what we have taught or not taught the next generation.

Focusing on new grads, the executive explained that it is not surprising when a new grad in need of work interviews with demands concerning work hours, limited travel and holidays. Of course this can’t be you as you read this, but you may know someone who fits the description and they are giving a large group a bad name. In order to climb out of our current economic mess, a number of things need to happen, but maybe the most important is that as a society we get back to the value of good old hard work. And it needs to become imperative for new college grads.

So if you need to find work, prove you understand and appreciate the value of a hard days work and companies will line up to hire you.

So how to prove the point?

I know a very successful heart surgeon today who took one summer away from medical school in the early 70s to come to west Texas to work cattle. The work was hard and dirty where he literally shoveled sh*t. Today he claims that he learned the value of work that summer and established a foundation that has affected him for the good every working day of his life. Maybe the better your education you should go out of your way to spend a few months doing the dirtiest job. You will learn work value, how to gain respect and the reward of a job – any job well done. No matter what you do, a heart surgeon, a developer or a salesman, the experience will make you a better person and employee. At the very least, you will have a good appreciation for the work you do.

If I were in charge, everyone would spend time learning the value of hard work… manual labor, retail, fast food – don’t care where, I just understand the foundation it builds and, as I have throughout my career, will continue to make understanding hard work through actual experience a prerequisite for hiring.

Can’t find a job doing this kind of work? Don’t have the time? Bull…There is plenty that needs to be done in your town, your neighborhood, your Church or at the local library. Volunteer, no one said you had to be paid to get value out of hard work. The experience and the work references alone will put you ahead of the rest.

Want a job, a career? Learn how to work first!

Guest Blogger Hank Stringer is a member of the Glassdoor.com, Clearview Collection and CEO of Stringer Executive Search and Chief Strategist to Novotus – a professional recruiting agency. In 2006 he co-authored Talent Force: A New Manifesto For The Human Side of Business” (Prentice-Hall. 2006) with fellow Clearview contributor Rusty Rueff. Hank’s experience includes founding Hire.com, an early Internet recruitment solution acquired by Authoria in 2005. He has also served as a senior recruiter for Dell Inc. and Tandem Computers.

The Glassdoor Team is a small yet seasoned group of individuals looking to provide greater transparency into one of the most important aspects of our lives – our jobs. Contributions to the blog are designed to present a unique perspective on current events, offer commentary on the inside workings on specific jobs at a multitude of companies, and provide details on the latest happenings from within Glassdoor.