Hiring People_ Recruit and Keep the Brightest Stars - Kathy Shwiff [8]
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Dos & Don’ts
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HOW TO WRITE A GOOD ONLINE AD
It takes skill to craft an effective ad for an Internet site. You want to appeal not only to active job seekers but also to those who are just testing the waters by checking employment sites, so-called “passive job seekers.” To make your ad appealing to both types of online job seekers, keep these tips in mind:
Do include terms that convey urgency, such as “Immediate Opening” or “Available Now.”
Do use a punchy, creative teaser, such as “Innovative Thinkers Wanted.”
Do place salary and/or benefits near the top of the ad; surveys have shown that this increases the number of respondents.
Don’t use job titles that are unclear or idiosyncratic to your company.
Do provide a bulleted list of required skills; describe these skills in terms that are likely to be used by candidates as keywords in a search engine.
Don’t abbreviate words, since online ad space is not restricted. Also, an abbreviation might not show up in a job hunter’s keyword search.
Do include information about career advancement at your company.
Do include information about your work environment, any unusual benefits, and intangibles that set the company apart.
Don’t forget to specify your location—city, state, and region.
Do add a link to community Web pages describing the local lifestyle.
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CASE FILE
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BRING ON (FLY IN) THE CANDIDATES!
Continental Airlines has developed an efficient global hiring strategy that eliminates local recruiters and centralizes the process. When the airline begins service to a new international destination, it announces in local media that it will be hiring and then guides people to its Web site, where job openings are posted. Once there, candidates are required to answer questions related to the job they are seeking before they can fill out an application. Based on their responses, they are either culled automatically or allowed to move on. If an application is accepted, the candidate is flown to Continental headquarters for interviews. The U.S.-based recruiting staff does not travel to conduct interviews locally. Thus, the company is able to process more than 80,000 international applications annually.
SOURCE: “Paperless Route for Recruiting” by Fay Hanson, Workforce.com (February 27, 2006).
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THE BOTTOM LINE
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RESPONDING TO RESUMES
Once you’ve made your resume selection, make a point of responding to every application, sooner rather than later. The best candidates will naturally be in demand, so you don’t want to lose a great hire just because you didn’t get back to her quickly enough.
Personal responses are preferable, but even a form letter telling job seekers that their resumes are in your hands is acceptable.
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Finally, give applicants a way to follow up with someone in person, whether it is the name and phone number of the hiring manager, or a general e-mail account for employment inquiries.
RECRUITING
When you have a specific position to fill, advertising in print or on the Web is a perfectly legitimate way to attract talent. Yet smart employers never stop looking for good people, and they use all the means at their disposal.
For most companies, their Web site is their key recruiting tool. Advertising openings on your own site works especially