Corporate Eye

...compare, compete, excel

Careers

Lights and Bushels

In case you haven’t spent quality time customizing your personal information environment, I highly recommend it. My home page of selected news pays off daily, bringing me several Careers-related RSS feeds and much (much) more.  On a recent morning, one “buzz” source offered an item about five radically healthy yet inexpensive foods. I wanted to know what the five foods are . . .

Could I find that out in the five seconds it would take to read five words? No indeed. I had to watch a five-minute video. A perfectly okay video of an ABC News segment, but I didn’t want to spend time watching it. I just wanted the information. (Here’s a gift of three minutes, in case you’re interested: frozen veggies, canned salmon, edamame, sweet potatoes, and brown rice.)

In reviewing Careers sites, I very often experience the same frustration. In some cases, and particularly in employee testimonials and day-in-the-life videos, the medium is necessary for the message. There is no bullet point version, and seeing/hearing the people and events is an important aspect of the information.

In other cases, though, I’d like to get the info without the video—or at least have that choice. And even where the video is key information, I’d like to have something left over from my investment of viewing time. Could I have a text summary after the video? Maybe even a transcript?

Deloitte does a great job on this!

deloitte-video

Merck is another company that offers video transcripts—but the implementation is less appealing, since you have to open a PDF to see the transcript.
This same lament applies to Flash maps. It’s neat to click on a city or country and see where jobs might be available. But if the map isn’t connected with actual, available positions—what have I gained?

Once again, Deloitte is on track:

deloitte-map

From the Deloitte map, you can click through to a specific location and see not only detail about the office, but available jobs. And if you prefer a text search, just change tabs.

deloitte-linkDoes Deloitte have everything right? Not quite. And that’s the reason for the post title.

Deloitte hides its nice video/transcript offering under a bushel. It’s not in the left (main) navigation, and not reached from any text links. To get there, you would have to decide to click on a rather vague graphic titled “Career Insights,” which is located at the bottom of a right-hand column.

So as a practical action item . . . consider these suggestions:

  • Gizmos should make sense and connect with functionality.
  • Videos should be connected with a print message at some point.
  • High-value content should be clearly labeled–and placed where the visitor won’t miss it!

Outside In

emc outdoors ad examples

So I’m on hold, waiting for a customer service representative, and since I’ve got the company’s website open in front of me, I decide to check out the Careers page. The company in question has a fairly high public profile–and since it’s in an industry where many jobs are thought of as something to do while looking for something better, there’s a fair amount of turnover. Therefore (I reason) it should be interesting to check out their recruiting strategy, as long as I’m stuck in their world for a while.

And it certainly was interesting, on many levels. In fact, I thought up seven topics for future posts in about three minutes, so this was on-hold time that really paid off. And one of the things I started wondering about was—why are people looking at a Careers site in the first place? Now that might seem like a really basic point. And everyone else may be thinking about it all the time, while I’m just way behind. Maybe not, though . . .

I was on this particular company’s site for another reason, and ended up at the Careers page through equal parts of boredom and curiosity. But other site visitors—such as potential investors, customers, or clients–might drop by Careers while trying to get a 360 view of the company. And competitors probably stop in occasionally to see what their rival is up to.

So one moral of this post is: Don’t be so focused on job-seekers that you forget about other visitors. Some of the folks who wander by for a different reason might be (or know) potentially perfect employees. Is there something on the site to catch their attention? 

The other question that came to mind was “Are there any clever, creative ideas out there for getting people to the Careers site?” Preferably the right people (but let’s not rule out the volume approach). And no, I really didn’t find any. But I did end up thinking about the use of outdoor advertising for recruitment. You can’t put a lot on a billboard—but you can definitely highlight a web address. The examples shown in this post are from EMC Outdoor, and their website points out that recruitment ads which use outdoor media get attention by being different, as well as by appearing in interesting places or being seen in the same place repeatedly.

But I think there’s a subliminal message at work also. The scale of a billboard ad seems to say “This is a really big opportunity!” So the other moral of this post is: What messages are you sending indirectly on your site? Does it bring to mind exciting opportunities? Big dreams? Secure future? Or . . . ?

Silver Linings

job-angels-2

I’ve started at least five times to write a post on the current wave of bad economic news—specifically, how lay-offs, down-sizing, store closings, and other RIFs affect recruiting. And what that means for the Careers site in particular, and online recruiting efforts in general.

But I decided every time that I should really write about something else first. Here are some of the reasons I kept veering away:

  1. Circumstances are changing almost daily, and it seems unlikely that trends in the employment situation can be predicted accurately.
  2. Problems are so big and so many that it’s difficult to analyze the various factors that might affect specific companies, or even specific industries.
  3. There are assorted viewpoints and theories–and it’s too soon to tell which of them (if any) will prove to accurate or helpful.
  4. And (of course) this is just an unhappy topic to write about . . .

So I was delighted to find a story in this category that is not only clear and simple, but also very heartening. John Zappe’s post on ere.net tells how HR consultant Mark Stelzner recently sent this message to his 700 or so Twitter followers: “Was thinking that if each of us helped just one person find a job, we could start making a dent in unemployment. You game?”

They were. And the result is Job Angels. After just a couple of weeks, this spontaneous movement not only has its own Twitter following, but also groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. A Job Angels website is under construction.

Job Angels is partly a platform to connect people who can help with people who need help–and partly a mission to create awareness and provide hope. Stelzner explains on his blog: “When faced with hundreds of thousands of job losses, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless. But if the idea is for you to simply aid one person –a friend, a family member, a colleague or a complete stranger–that somehow not only seems possible, it seems probable.”

Even when recruiters and other HR professionals don’t have vacancies to fill, or they can’t hire as many people as they once did—they still have expertise and connections that can help people find work. I’ll bet a lot of people were already doing this without even thinking about it! Job Angels provides a way to capture and multiply some of that energy, through the power of social networking.

Details, Details

Starbucks

I’ve been looking at a lot of sites lately, and have come across several items that don’t need a whole post, and don’t fit anywhere else either. So thought I’d round up a few examples of small things that can make a big difference.

Message: Job-seekers Welcome

Starbucks hangs out the Welcome sign by putting a Careers link in the exact middle of its About page. The prominent placement indicates that jobs/people are central to the company.

Quiktrip

QuikTrip highlights the Jobs tab on its top menu with a red circle and the note ‘Excellent.’ This double-duty detail not only makes Jobs seem important—it also delivers a one-word message that sets up positive expectations.

Qualcomm CEO

Message: We’re Serious

Qualcomm offers a substantive three-minute video in which the CEO talks about the importance of employees in the company’s success. The presentation signals visitors that filling jobs at Qualcomm is not just an agenda item for HR—it’s a top-down priority.

Qualcomm recruiters

Message: We’re on Your Side

Another nice Qualcomm touch is introducing the visitor to some recruiters. Every recruiter profile includes a photo, plus interview tips and the recruiter’s own insights about the company. The effect is not only a feeling of personal relationship, but also an impression that Qualcomm wants job-seekers to succeed. (One criticism: This nifty feature is buried behind an Employee Profiles link. I think it deserves a spot on the top page!)

BCG: interview prep

Boston Consulting Group takes the on-your-side message even further with an Interview Prep section that is extremely cool. In fact, it’s so cool I’ll talk more about it in a future post. Preview: BCG has come up with a simulation that really works. But even if this prep feature were just a few bullet points or an ordinary Q&A, it would still send a strong signal of support to the job-seeker.

Message: Let’s Connect

NetApp: connection

NetApp puts a contact invitation prominently at the top of each page on the Careers site. While ‘call right now’ is not a feasible strategy for every company–someone has to be at the other end of the phone!–an invitation of some kind (search jobs, send resume, download fact sheet, etc.) gives visitors the opportunity to make an active connection with the company.

Reminder

Details are important. If the major elements—core message, look-and-feel, content items—of a site are strong, the minor elements can add a valuable extra dimension. And sometimes it’s the little things that make the visitor feel important, or distinguish your site from a competitor’s, or help synch the Careers message with the company’s brand focus. So take a look at your site and see if there’s room for improvement at the detail level.

Back to Basics

Illuminated 17th century Danish bestiary

Imagine a parallel Internet universe, where the hyperlink doesn’t exist and the cost of making video is a million dollars a minute. No Flash either. No Java, no Shockwave, not even animated GIFs. In short–nothing moves …

So essentially, your web page in this universe is exactly like a page in a magazine or a book. Just words, and ordinary, motionless pictures. How would you get your message across? And what would it be?

In this universe you have to tell a job-seeker everything they need to know on one page. That means you have to determine exactly what information is necessary, and present it in an effective order. The information has to be clear and complete, because it’s not going to be clarified or amplified somewhere else. The text has to be well-written and interesting, because there aren’t going to be revolving pictures and talking heads to entertain the visitor.

Tough assignment!

I started thinking about this topic after accidentally landing on the Employment page of The Meadows Racetrack and Casino. I had just looked at twenty sites that used every trick except dancing girls to sell their message, so I was fairly startled by the retro simplicity at The Meadows. But since I happened to be at the site—and there wasn’t anything else to look at on the page—I read the message. And it was so clear, so personal, so inviting that I really wanted to get a job there.

Obviously, such a radically minimalist strategy can’t work for most companies. But this true story is a reminder that good content can be more important than slick presentation. Also that more is not necessarily better.

If you want to spend a little time on sharpening the Careers message, here’s an exercise. Take a look at your company’s existing site and imagine what a visitor would take away if they landed on the Careers home page and never did anything but read. Clicked no links, watched no videos. Just read the one page.

Back to basics

Some questions to consider:

  • If a visitor had no prior knowledge about the company, could they get a basic idea of its business identity?
  • Is there enough information to provide visitors with a general understanding of how the company finds, retains, and rewards employees?
  • Does the message highlight the most important things a visitor needs to know? Is the approach direct and personable?
  • Will visitors have the tools—and the desire—to take next steps?

I’d love to hear from any readers who try this exercise, so please share your findings! And in the next post, I’ll do a 180 degree turn to explore the latest, hottest trends for recruiting on the website.

What to do when you’ve Googled a candidate?

Thursday Bram offers us some tips on what to do when you’ve Googled someone’s name. We’ve all done it; but what do you do with the results?

If you run an online search on a job applicant, you can find pages and pages of information. For some names, search engines like Google can return millions of results. Interpreting all of that information — and ensuring that it’s truly relevant to a candidate — can take a little work.

Reading Social Networking Profiles

It’s common to find at least one social networking website in the results of a search for a particular name. Depending on the site, you may need a membership to view a profile or you may need to be ‘friends’ with an individual to look at their results. In other cases, you may be able to access a person’s full profile immediately. If you can access a profile, you can find a wealth of information: links to personal websites as well as accounts on other networking sites, details about past employment (sometimes even links to supervisors) and perhaps even updates written by the job candidate.

Reading through such information can be a lengthy process, especially if a candidate has maintained a blog or online journal for a long period of time. You can use Google or another search engine’s advanced search panel to search a website for particular keywords — if, for instance, you want to know about a candidate’s relationship with a former employer, you can search his or her blog for mentions of that company.

Interpreting Other Results

Results can range far beyond social networking profiles: if a prospective employee has been mentioned in a newspaper article or maintains a website, you’re likely to see such information in the results for his or her name. You can find products an applicant has endorsed and awards he or she has won. Not all of this information is relevant beyond proving a resume true or false, but it can help to build a clearer picture of a particular candidate — and help you make a decision on whether such an individual would be a good fit for a particular job.

Finding the Right John Smith

When you research a potential employee with an unusual name, it’s relatively easy to determine which search results are pertinent. On social networking sites, you can quickly compare education or work histories. On personal sites, it’s just a matter of looking for a reference to a particular employer.

But when you’re considering an applicant with a common name, you may run into a few more problems. No one wants to hold a job candidate responsible for the actions of someone else — even if they share a name — but it can be difficult to find an indicator that you’ve got the wrong John Smith. You can narrow down the search results by including a middle name, a location or a company in your search. You can also use other information to narrow down your hunt: running a search on a candidate’s email address can provide relevant information, as can searching a previous employer’s website for mentions of that employee’s name.

So: when you’ve got your search results, there is often more to be done to ensure you’ve got to the bottom of your candidate’s story …

Thanks, Thursday!